Staff profile

I’ve spent my career at the intersection of science, policy, and practical land management. After many years with Natural England—first delivering agri-environment schemes and later as National Specialist in Grassland Agronomy—I moved into the seed industry, leading an Innovate UK pilot, Re-wilding Our Seed, on maintaining genetic integrity in commercial seed production. More recently, as Tree and Woodland Officer for the North Pennines National Landscape, I developed and delivered restoration projects that prioritised native seed sourcing and the local provenance of plant material for both woodland and grassland restoration schemes.

My PhD, Safeguarding genetic integrity: Inter-situ conservation methods to enhance Biodiversity Net Gain through provenance-based seed sourcing, draws together the strands of my professional journey—a chance to consolidate years of work in conservation, farming, and seed systems into research that strengthens the link between science and practice.