I am a plant ecologist and applied scientist specialising in mountain vegetation and habitat restoration, and am currently researching a part-time PhD entitled “Improving outcomes in montane woodland restoration” at the University of Stirling. My research focuses on developing conservation management techniques to restore healthy and sustainable populations of trees and shrubs in mountain woodland habitats across Britain.
I also work as the Conservation Manager of Corrour Estate in the Scottish Highlands, which has a long-term vision for landscape-scale ecological restoration and nature recovery. My research is therefore designed to directly inform environmental management and on-the-ground conservation action. I am highly experienced in fieldwork, botany and biological recording, but also incorporate tools across a range of spatial and temporal scales from molecular genetics through to remote sensing.
I have been Chair of the Mountain Woodland Action Group since 2021, and previously worked as an ecologist for the National Trust for Scotland at Ben Lawers NNR from 2013-2020 where I studied some of Britain’s rarest arctic-alpine plants. This work led to a publication in the journal Biological Conservation highlighting climate change impacts on mountain biodiversity. Our research demonstrates the need to recognise conservation threats in important biological groups such as small vascular plants, bryophytes, lichens, invertebrates and fungi, as well as the charismatic large mammals and birds.
To address “plant blindness” and showcase the need for the protection and restoration of mountain habitats, I regularly undertake outreach activities such as public talks, guest lectures, open access writing and citizen science engagement through social media.
Experience
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2019–presentPhD researcher in plant ecology and conservation, University of Stirling
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2021–presentConservation Manager, Corrour Lands Ltd
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2013–2020Seasonal ecologist, National Trust for Scotland
Education
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2012University of Edinburgh, Bsc Ecological Sciences
Publications
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2023High mountain trees: altitudinal records recently broken for eleven different tree species in Britain, British and Irish Botany
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2022Creating testable questions in practical conservation: a process and 100 questions, Conservation Evidence
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2022The benefits of mountain woodland restoration, Restoration Ecology
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2022Riding the elevator to extinction: Disjunct arctic-alpine plants of open habitats decline as their more competitive neighbours expand, Biological Conservation
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2022Remarkable botanical records from Corrour in Westerness (v.c.97), including Baldellia repens (Alismataceae) and Illecebrum verticillatum (Caryophyllaceae), new to Scotland, British and Irish Botany
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2020Revegetation of upland eroded bare peat using heather brash and geotextiles in the presence and absence of grazing, Mires and Peat
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2019Population dynamics and life history of the rare arctic-alpine plant Sagina nivalis (Caryophyllaceae) on the Ben Lawers range, Scotland, UK, British and Irish Botany
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2019Grazing exclusion and vegetation change in an upland grassland with patches of tall herbs, Applied Vegetation Science
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2014A study of nesting sparrowhawks Accipiter nisus using video analysis, Bird Study
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