16/06/2026
Introducing our Graduate Residents for the 2026-2027 academic year -
Toby Sydenham has been a motivated and committed student throughout his BA (Hons) Wildlife Media degree, often working as a team with his good friend and peer Lloyd. Toby is a skilled wildlife photographer and wildlife filmmaker, being central to the successful Royal Television Society 2026 award-winning film 'Mull Man' in the ‘Long Form: Factual’ category.
A key area of Toby's interest and knowledge is the importance of ethics as a conservation media professional, being mindful of legislation and guidance for outdoor media with low impact on wildlife habitats, locations and behaviours. He focussed his dissertation research on this and will be advising students on campus about good ethical practice.
Toby says - "I have loved my time as an undergraduate and the Graduate Residency programme offers the valuable opportunity to continue honing my skills and developing my professional practice. I have hugely benefitted from my tutors' willingness to share their expertise and I have grown enormously as both a photographer and filmmaker over the course of the last three years. I will really value the opportunity to continue working as part of the creative community of the university as I transition to the next stage of my career."
Toby adds - "As part of the residency, I will seek to develop my practice in three distinct areas. Firstly, I would like to explore further the topic of ethics in wildlife photography and filmmaking (the subject of my dissertation). If selected, I would make the main focus of my residency a study of various aspects of human and wildlife interaction including, for example, issues relating to species reintroduction. I would also like to help other students reflect on the ethical aspects of their professional practice, potentially through the creation of one or more short films which could be shared with students and, possibly, more widely (e.g. through social media)."
"Secondly, while I love planning trips to locations further afield, I have become increasingly aware of the sheer beauty and variety of British wildlife (being in Cumbria, which I love, has really helped!). I think the residency would be a great opportunity to share my enthusiasm for 'wildlife on your doorstep' with both students and the wider community. As one example, I would like to set-up a camera trapping project locally. I think such a project could be really helpful in encouraging students to appreciate local wildlife, but could also provide interesting content for sharing more widely."
"Thirdly, I have hugely enjoyed the collaborative nature of the degree course - undoubtedly some of my best work has been created in partnership with other students. I would look to continue this, both by continuing to collaborate with former students (specifically, I am planning to continue working with Lloyd Prime on a number of projects) and also by supporting undergraduates, as suitable opportunities arise."
Follow Toby's work on Instagram -
https://www.instagram.com/tsydenham_photography/
