SUE Farthing jets off for the opportunity of a lifetime today leaving behind office life for the rainforest and caterpillar farming.

Mrs Farthing was selected from more than 220,000 HSBC workers to take part in a wildlife conservation project in Costa Rica.

Her expedition is part of Investing in Nature, an £11 million eco-partnership between the banking giant and environmental charity Earthwatch, which has projects around the world.

She will be joining scientists who are examining how Costa Rican caterpillars are affected by changing climates.

Her work will include collecting species and their host plants, observing them and chemically analysing toxins. It will give her the equivalent of a graduate course in ecological dynamics.

Speaking to the Argus before she left, the mother-of-two, who is the UK manager for sales training for HSBC, explained why she had decided to apply.

"I just though it was too good an opportunity to miss but I didn't think I would get it. I had to put forward a case study of why I was interested and what I thought I would get out of it."

Mrs Farthing, of Usk, explained that she had always been interested in conservation and supported local projects.

She was thrilled to get a phone call to say she was successful and then found out where she was heading.

"I was absolutely over the moon and a little bit scared because it is the rainforest with snakes and spiders but I'm just going to go with it."

When she returns after a fortnight she has to give three talks about her experiences and she will also receive £400 to support a local conservation project.

Mrs Farthing, 49, has decided to give it to Usk Primary School for their recently-established woodland trail.

After the adventure in the rainforest, she will be joined by her husband Kevin for a one-week holiday with a difference on the Pacific Coast where they will stay in a beach hut surrounded by wildlife.