Barry Nicholson
Very sadly our friend, Ecology Consultancy Co Director, and top ecologist, Barry Nicholson died on Sunday September 12th. Tragically he fell ill with lymphoma a couple of years ago shortly after the death of his beloved wife, Liz. He will be greatly missed.
Dr Rachel Saunders
BSc, PhD, MIEEM, Senior Ecologist has worked in various fields of ecology and conservation for 10 years, specialising mainly in mammal ecology and protected species issues. She has extensive experience in mammal identification and survey techniques and has been running national workshops for The Mammal Society for nine years. Formerly working for English Nature (now Natural England), she has experience in the management of designated sites as well as development control issues relating to protected species and habitats. She has also undertaken research into various aspects of urban ecology, including the spatial ecology of urban foxes and the value of gardens for wildlife.
Sam Phillips
HND, BSc, AIEEM, Ecologist has worked for several universities on large-scale ecological experiments from the Arctic Tundra to the Tropics. He has worked with the Central Science Laboratories in the UK on the monitoring of badger populations and the behavioural ecology of UK bats. Currently, part-time lecturer at Easton College and runs an Environmental Awareness course for the Environment Agency in East Anglia. He is a committee member of the Norwich Bat Group and training towards a bat licence.
Dr Graham Hopkins
BSc, PGCE, PhD, MIEEM, FRES Senior Ecologist has a particular interest in insect ecology and has worked with commercial partners and NGOs for over ten years. He has extensive experience of site survey and assessment for invertebrate interests, with major projects including proposed road schemes, brownfield developments and flood defence works. His survey skills include terrestrial and freshwater habitats and his identification expertise includes the flies, bees and wasps, and the bugs (including aphids). His academic work included extensive post-doctoral fieldwork in the UK and Costa Rica and he has published several important desk-based studies.
Alex Prendergast
BSc, MSc, Ecologist trained in Botany at The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and has written theses on urban plant communities and diatom speciation. Specialisms include the British flora, lower plants and ethnobotany. He has previously held positions in the fields of horticulture, plant science and natural history. He has worked as botanist on a number of scientific expeditions to South-East Asia, Africa and Central America, and for voluntary conservation organisations in the UK.
Tracy Simpson
MSc, Graduate member of IEEM, Ecologist has training in identification and ecology of a wide range of taxonomic groups (vertebrates, invertebrates and botany). Her main experience has been in Phase 1 habitat surveys as well as protected species survey and assessments.
Catherine Greenhough
BSc (Hons) AIEEM Ecologist has worked with bats at a professional level for over four years and is a licenced bat worker. She has worked with almost all species of bat present in the UK and her experience includes radio tracking and trapping with mist nets and harp traps. Catherine has been involved with surveying and monitoring of bats for road schemes, surveys for wind farm sites for bats, and bat surveys of commercial and residential dwellings, trees, and bridges. She is also working towards a licence to survey for great crested newts.
Catherine has worked for Norfolk County Council as temporary County Ecologist, during which time she published, in association with the Norfolk Biodiversity Partnership, Species Action Plans for Norfolk's bats. In 2009 she established the Norfolk Bat and Roadside Mammals Survey which aims to map the distribution of Norfolk's bats using driven transects over a two year period.
Catherine is also an active member of Norwich Bat Group.