I visited Holland and Denmark to study coastal dune management when I was working on the Sefton coast in Merseyside.

My travels were along the Atlantic Wall defences so the relevance to Churchill was not lost on my hosts. I returned with many new ideas. Two years later I helped my new Dutch colleagues plan a tour of British dunes and in 1987 I helped establish the European Union for Dune Conservation.

Sand dune coasts respond to climate and sea level changes, but all too often are modified for sea defences, built on, artificially stabilised or planted with trees. My experience helped advocate a more natural 'dynamic' approach.

The Fellowship was something I wanted to share. It encouraged me to establish networks of coastal managers and to organise study tours and exchanges. It helped me become a dune expert and, although now retired, the interest continues.

The Fellowship was just a few weeks, but it gave me a European outlook and after over 20 years as a dune manager I switched to working with the European Commission on nature projects.

A Churchill Fellowship can change your life, but only if you want it to. No-one tells you what you have to do, and you can make of it what you will.