I studied Botany and Zoology at the University of Reading and worked briefly on a variety of entomological projects at CABI Bioscience, before heading north for my PhD at the Macaulay Institute and the University of Aberdeen. This involved investigating the impacts of herbivores on rare sub-arctic willow scrub, with fieldwork in the Breadalbane Hills, Perthshire. Following this I worked as an ecologist surveying rare plants for the National Trust for Scotland and worked with volunteers carrying out biodiversity surveys in Nicaragua. Since joining WildCRU in 2008, I have worked on a variety of projects, including the Mole project with Sandra Baker (Mole damage and control in the UK; after strychnine) and on a pilot study into the feasibility of live trapping and translocating moles.

I am currently investigating the biodiversity of ditches on intensively managed farmland, particularly how it varies in relation to management and isolation from other ditches and water sources.