Having worked as an advisor on a number of land-based rewilding projects, earned a PhD in community-based rainforest conservation, and developed and delivered educational programmes to connect people with nature, the concept of ‘rewilding’, the returning of people and places to previously wild states, is close to my heart. I aim to lend my scientific mind, my sociological experience and storytelling skills to the cause.
Restoration Ecology and Rewilding
Degraded land is everywhere, from brownfield sites to the ‘green desert’ of sheep pastures across the British Isles. I am interested in creating conditions that allow nature to reestablish viable wildlife populations and processes through natural regeneration, community engagement, strategic planning, systems thinking and developing alternative livelihoods.
I have hands on experience in this field through a quarry restoration project in Somerset with Heidleberg Cement, strategy development and wildland restoration on pastoral farms and estates in Devon, Yorkshire, and Scotland, and through the implementation of a nationwide sustainable farming project in Uganda.
Community-based Conservation
Conservation and environmental work has been dominated by ‘outsiders’, people who are not from the area in question. Engaging and empowering local communities to participate and lead on environmental work is critical but the process of devolution is complex. I am interested in applying a systematic and deliberate approach to planning and implementing environmental projects to maximise their local effectiveness and longevity.
I developed and ran a community-based forest & climate project in Guyana for 5 years on behalf of The Global Canopy Programme.
Advice and work
All the rewilding projects I have encountered around the globe have run into significant problems in their early stages due to local opposition. This resistance to change is only natural, but these initial and continued problems can be minimised significantly by deliberate sociological engagement, work that is frequently over-looked by pure natural scientists who often coordinate projects such as these. I am able to offer a multi-disciplinary approach, including:
the development and delivery of community outreach programmes for land-use changes, such as adopting a rewilding approach;
short and long term strategy development, including community consulation workshops;
linkage to carbon sequestration and offsetting projects;
baseline ecological surveys;
environmental impact assessments (EIAs) of development projects;
wildlife guiding;
being a friendly ally.