Mick Goodfellow

Mick works as an Environmental Health Practitioner on the rural Isle of Anglesey just off the coast of Northern Wales. His responsibilities are predominantly focused around air quality, contaminated land, drainage, and Statutory Noise investigations. He moved to the remote island in 2009 after a 12 year RAF career beginning as a Logistics Operator and after having completed a degree in Environmental Health from Nottingham Trent University in 2004. He also completed an MSc in Environmental Management at University of Derby, with a dissertation focused on noise control in motorsport circuits across the UK. His decision to move came after years of commuting and living in the Midlands; he jumped at the chance to ‘escape’ and has never looked back since!

Having joined the IES in 2014, Mick is extremely happy with his decision. The IES gives Mick access to materials on a broad range of trans-boundary topics which complement his own area of expertise. It allows him to explore issues outside of his normal professional focus, whilst reflecting the multi-disciplinary approach of his own work. Being pushed outside of your comfort zone and having your knowledge base tested is a positive and enriching experience for Mick, both in terms of his work and his engagement with the IES. He also shares our values and admires our work in terms of raising awareness about global issues which tend to have local implications.

For Mick, the best aspect of his job is its amazing location. It allows him to belong to a community and he is passionate about being involved in its preservation and protection. As an Environmental Health Practitioner on such a rich and diverse island, most of which is classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (ANOB), he deals with a variety of landscapes and situations, rendering his work all the more exciting and challenging.

Mick adds, “living by the seaside and taking my dog for a walk on the beach every morning before I go to work certainly beats a 70 mile commute along the M6 every day!

The feeling of connection to the land and the surrounding community means that for Mick, it is so much more than just a job.

Having the ability to protect and shape the island in terms of environmental impacts, has a real sense of importance to me and is far more than just a job; because it’s where I live.”

It’s a very exciting time to be working on the Isle of Anglesey because of its aim to be ‘at the forefront of low carbon technology’ through low carbon energy developments, enhancing employment growth, preparing local business and sustaining communities.

Mick is currently involved in a variety of new projects including the development of a new nuclear power station. His role in this project will be in ensuring its installation is conducted safely and with minimal impact on the surrounding environment, and it is something that he feels very passionate about and looks forward to completing in the future. Mick is also helping to further research into the phenomenon known as Excess Amplitude Modulation (EAM) associated with wind turbines, of which the Isle of Anglesey has many.

Mick would also like to undertake further research and study, ideally as a PhD, on the subject of how cognitive behaviour therapy coping mechanisms can be used within the realms of Statuary Noise Nuisance work. In the meantime he looks forward to continuing his Welsh lessons, enabling him to remain connected to the local community and immersed in Welsh culture.

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