After working in the Tourism and Hospitality industry I completed my first degree in Environmental Science at the University of Central Lancashire. Following this I was a researcher and lecturer in the areas of sustainable tourism and transportation for ten years. My work involved numerous international consortium research projects on urban mobility, sustainable communities, recreational trails for active travel, events, coastal and heritage tourism. I have also conducted work for many local and national government organisations, the National Trust and Sustrans. Additionally I completed a doctorate which drew together these areas, focusing on recreational walkers and their interactions with the external environment.
I moved to University of Salford in October 2016, where I developed the emergent area of urban ecology. I developed and project-managed the £1.7 million Nature Based Solutions Living Lab for the IGNITION project, and lectured on a range of Built Environment, Human Geography and Sustainability Degrees. I also co-founded the Healthy Active Cities Sustainable Transport research group, which I am still an associate member of.
I have been a lecturer and programme lead at Glasgow Caledonian University since September 2020. I lead on the BA International Tourism and Events Management and BA International Events Management degrees.