At UEA, my conception of nature and the environment was challenged. In two of my classes - Environmental Analytical Chemistry and Ecology - I was introduced to different ways of thinking about the natural world and the environment. In the U.K., nature is thought of as something to be managed directly by humans, which is often largely in contrast to the way ecologists in the U.S. view it. With a long history of managing the land, the U.K. does not have large tracts of "wilderness" like the U.S. does. 

As someone who has had an interest in and studied invasive species, I learned that in the U.K. invasive species are not often seen as a large threat like they are in the U.S., because many of the ecosystems are already actively managed. 

Currently, the U.K. is working on reintroducing more "wild" lands - such as creating salt marshes.