Motivational Letter Review for an International Training

Hello, may I beg your indulgence for a few minutes to review my motivational letter? Thank you.

Dear Selection Committee,

I am writing to apply for the fully funded International Training on Forest Restoration to be held in Padova, Italy, from 28 September to 2 October 2026. As an early-career field ecologist and Graduate Assistant in Zoology at the Federal University of Lafia, Nigeria, I am eager to help pilot the FORestore MOOC and to bring biodiversity-monitoring skills into the field of sustainable forest management and restoration.

My research background is grounded in field-based biodiversity assessment. Through bird-ringing, a campus-wide Laughing Dove and Bronze Mannikin population survey, and savanna habitat work, I have developed the very skills that underpin restoration success - species monitoring, structured field data collection, and ecological analysis. To date, my ongoing survey has recorded over 500 individual sightings across 12 transect walks in three habitat types over 3 months is the same kind of rigorous, repeatable monitoring that restoration projects rely on to track ecological recovery. A forest is a living system, and its restoration is measured not only in trees planted but, in the biodiversity, and ecosystem services recovered. This is where my experience connects directly to the project’s goals.

As a Graduate Assistant, I also teach and mentor undergraduate researchers, which gives me a strong stake in FORestore’s vocational-training mission. I am well placed to absorb the curriculum and cascade it to students and communities in Nigeria, extending the training’s impact well beyond the five days in Padova. My work in community outreach and science communication including my older works with NGOs reflects a genuine commitment to the community-engagement and awareness objectives at the heart of the project.

Nigeria faces real deforestation and land-degradation pressures, and I am motivated to be part of the solution through the Africa - Europe knowledge exchange this project champions. The opportunity to combine the MOOC with field visits, and to learn alongside peers and trainers from Europe and Africa, is exactly the kind of practical, cross-cultural learning I am seeking at this stage of my career.

I am over 18, fluent in English (my language of education), and fully available for the training dates. Thank you for considering my application. I would be honoured to contribute to, and learn from, the FORestore community.

Yours sincerely,