My daughter, Laura Corrigan, who has died of colon cancer at the age of 37, was a marine ecologist and eco-warrior.
From an early age she was passionate about the sea and single-minded in her desire to have a career in marine ecology. She gained a first-class degree at the University of Essex in 2003 and returned to her home city to complete a PhD at Durham University on the population genetics of the Arctic char (a type of fish). In 2013, after several postdoctoral fellowships at Durham University, Laura started working for the Environment Agency (EA) with responsibility for the restoration, protection and enhancement of priority coastal habitats along the north-east and Yorkshire coasts, including Holy Island, Budle Bay, and the Coquet and Esk estuaries.
While at the EA she was twice given awards for innovation. She championed the profiling of environmental DNA, a less invasive method of mapping marine populations, and the methods she introduced have had a lasting impact on the EA’s approach to marine work. Her final project was the restoration of the salt marshes in the Wear estuary following the building of the new road bridge at Sunderland.
Laura was born and brought up in Durham, the third of four children of Edward Corrigan, professor of mathematics at the University of York, and me, Jane (nee Halton), a retired community adult education coordinator. She went to Durham Johnston comprehensive school.
A keen kayaker and wild swimmer, Laura was never happier than when exploring her beloved north-east coast. Even when seriously ill she completed the one-mile Loch Lomond swim to raise money for Bowel Cancer UK.
As a single parent of two boys, she became an enthusiastic proponent of natural parenting, as well as a breastfeeding supporter and a founder member of the County Durham cloth nappy library.
In 2012 she created Rainbow Threads, an online tie-dye business that produced T-shirts, linens and children’s clothes, and for many years she was a member of Fusion, a belly-dance group, performing at weddings and parties. Protective of the environment, she encouraged family and friends to use solar power, to recycle, to save water and to take better care of our fragile planet.
For more than three years, Laura bore her long and painful illness with stoicism, courage and optimism.
She is survived by her sons, Max, aged nine, and Finn, aged four, her sister, Anna, her brothers, David and Richard, and by her father and me.
