Well done for getting that permanent post!
I had a nightmare finding anything ecology based after graduating as well. I graduated in 1997 with a slightly disappointing 2:2 in Environmental Biology from Swansea Uni, couldn't afford to do an MSc, found myself overqualified for most jobs in Swansea, so I volunteered at WWT Llanelli for the best part of a year working in the education unit, and carrying out conservation and survey work in the grounds. It paid off eventually though, as luckily I met a girl who was working for the Environment Agency through a local wind band of all places!! She listened to my sorry story, and flashed my CV around a bit at the local office.
I landed a job in the microbiology lab a couple of weeks later, analysing beach water samples, and this eventually led to my current job as a freshwater biologist (I got my first ecology job mostly on the basis of my voluntary work!). It took me 4 years to get a permanent post, but luckily the Agency is pretty good at hanging on to their temp staff, and I got to do a lot of interesting projects in the process, although the lack of security and inability to get a mortgage was a bit of a downer!
It's a tricky field to get into, but perseverance definitely pays off
