Meet our staff: Richard Cobden, Digital Media Officer

Emma Chaplin
, 16 February 2021
Meet our staff: Richard Cobden, Digital Media Officer
Richard Cobden © Sue Curnock

Tell us your work history with the Trust

I started in 1999 as Interpretation Officer, now Sam Robert's role. Those were simpler days of Pritt Stick and photocopies. There was one computer that was shared with the Education Team and only one printer based in another office. So I'd nip in with a floppy disk to print things when Filma [also still with the Trust, now Business Support Officer] went for a coffee. 

The Trust had a simple website when I joined. I became responsible for it in the early 2000s.

In 2010, the Interpretation Officer role was split off and I also took charge of the newly formed social media channels in the role of Digital Media Officer. 

WoodsMill

Woods Mill. All wildlife photos in this interview have been taken by Richard

Tell us a bit about digital media then and now

It seemed exciting, fun and somewhat innocent back then. One concern we had is that the Trust is about encouraging people to engage with wildlife and we wondered if posting about it would somehow stop people connecting with it in the real world, but that proved very much not to be the case. Instead, it sparks interest, increases connections and encourages sharing and learning.

We still tell stories of how people connect with nature, the seasons and the wild places of Sussex, but the range of media channels has increased, as has what we might post - from 10 seconds of a Instagram video to TV quality video footage, or talking live to 700 people on our webinars. The scope to reach people has changed rapidly and continues to do so. 

The role and functions of the website have also changed dramatically over the years, as have the number of visitors. In 2009, we had 20,000 unique visitors and 61,000 webpage views. Last year, we had 1,480,989 unique visitors and 1,885,743 webpage views. 

And in terms of social media, in 2009, we had 1399 Twitter followers and 220 Facebook page fans. Now we've got 29,311 Twitter followers and 20,979 Facebook fans. There are now more than 70,000 accounts following across all channels. Basically, we're connecting with a community of nature lovers, within Sussex and far afield, who like to share. 

FlyAgaric

Fly Agaric

What key equipment and skills do you need to do your work?

My phone and computer. I use Photoshop a great deal as well as Premier Pro for video editing. 

As well as graphic design and various computer skills, I need to be a problem solver ie finding solutions to challenges put forward by colleagues. One recent is example has been to indicate graphically that bird song is playing on a webpage.

BeeOrchids

Bee Orchids

What impact has Covid had on your work?

We've been particularly busy, because digital media has become the Trust's prime means of connecting with members and supporters, since we have no face to face engagement at the moment, or events. This has been challenging, but one impact of the lockdowns has been to strengthen the wildlife community and bring in new audiences, as members and everyone at home have become more interested in the wildlife on their doorstep. 

Which colleagues at the trust do you work most closely with?

I'm lucky enough to work with pretty much everyone in the Trust throughout the year. On a day-to-day basis, my Fundraising and Communications Team colleagues, and the Community and Wildlife Team, developing content. 

Woodland

What sparks joy in your working day?

It's great when we get a lot of support, comments and questions from something we post. I'm amazed at some of the wildlife footage that is shared with us. And I'm impressed with the content, output and knowledge of my colleagues. 

Anything (Rye Harbour Nature Reserve Manager) Barry Yates does is amazing. He's so creative, with such a solid bedrock of wildlife knowledge.  

Least favourite activity?

Technical issues can be frustrating. 

Toad

Toad

If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be?

On a frosty day like today - a walk around Old Lodge. 

Old Lodge Nature Reserve©Sam RobertsSussex Wildlife Trust

Old Lodge by Sam Roberts

Lark or owl?

Very much an owl. I'd stay up all night if I could, 

Cat, dog or….?

Definitely a dog. Although I used to keep stick insects for years! 

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1792367302.4980 [907] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1792367302.52990.0319Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1792367302.530.0001Server address: 216.73.216.236
1792367302.530Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1792367302.530Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/meet-our-staff-richard-cobden-digital-media-officer
    [s] => meet-our-staff-richard-cobden-digital-media-officer
    [1] => meet-our-staff-richard-cobden-digital-media-officer
)
1792367302.53020.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1792367302.53110.0009 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1792367302.53280.0016 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1792367302.53330.0006INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1792367302.53620.0028 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=25092108
1792367302.53680.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=25092108
1792367302.53760.0007 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-10-18 23:48:00' AND saleTo>'2026-10-18 23:48:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1792367302.5390.0014 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='meet-our-staff-richard-cobden-digital-media-officer')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-10-18 23:48:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1792367302.54250.0035 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1792367302.5430.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2457 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-10-18 23:48:00'
1792367302.54390.0009 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1792367302.54460.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1792367302.54510.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=195 LIMIT 1
1792367302.54580.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1792367302.54590.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1792367302.54680.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-10-18 23:48:00' AND postSlug='meet-our-staff-richard-cobden-digital-media-officer'
1792367302.57560.0288Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1792367302.57610.0005 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1792367302.57810.002Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1792367302.57840.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1792367302.57960.0012 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1792367302.5810.0014 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1792367302.58520.0042 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1792367302.58590.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1792367302.58840.0025Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1792367302.58840 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1792367302.58890.0005 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1792367302.58940.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1792367302.59130.0019 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1792367302.59230.001 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1792367302.5930.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1792367302.5950.002 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1792367302.59610.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1792367302.5990.0029 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1792367302.59940.0004Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1792367302.59960.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1792367302.60040.0008Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1792367302.60060.0003 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='meet-our-staff-richard-cobden-digital-media-officer')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-10-18 23:48:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1792367302.60370.0031 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1792367302.60410.0004 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1792367302.60630.0022Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1792367302.6070.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2457 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1792367302.69150.0846 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1792367302.69170.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1792367302.6920.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1792367302.69290.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1792367302.69380.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1792367302.69450.0007 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1792367302.69780.0033 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1792367302.69870.0009 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1792367302.70160.0029 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1792367302.70250.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1792367302.70350.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1792367302.70410.0006 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1792367302.70770.0036 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1792367302.70840.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1792367302.71150.0031 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1792367302.71490.0034 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1792367302.7160.0011 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1792367302.71650.0006 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1792367302.720.0035 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1792367302.72070.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1792367302.72360.0029 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1792367302.72610.0025 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1792367302.72710.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1792367302.72770.0006 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1792367302.73070.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1792367302.73160.0008 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1792367302.73420.0026 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1792367302.73530.0011Request time: 0.2393
1792367302.73530Process time: 0.2391
1792367302.73530Memory: 1.6495