Meet the team

Kirsty joined Freshwater Habitats Trust as a Trainee Project Officer for the River Irfon project and transitioned to the role of Habitats and Species Officer in September 2024. Her role involves collaborating with local landowners and farmers to protect, restore, and create vital freshwater habitats within the Irfon Catchment in Mid Wales. She also engages with people and volunteers to promote the importance of wetland plant species and enhance botanical biodiversity within the GroWet project.

Kirsty holds a First-class degree in plant biology and has just completed her Master of Research in Biosciences, focusing on utilising aquatic plants to clean polluted water and mitigate eutrophication. Prior to joining Freshwater Habitats Trust, she worked as a Laboratory Research Assistant, where she developed a strong interest in sustainable agriculture and practical conservation methods. In her free time, Kirsty enjoys going for walks, exploring new places and playing her favorite board games.

As Catchment Officer, Adam is responsible for managing the Ock Catchment Partnership, the Ock Catchment Farmer Cluster and delivering a range of wetland habitat creation and restoration projects and Natural Flood Management schemes across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire. He is particularly interested in restoring and managing Lowland Alkaline Fens, a nationally rare, threatened and very biodiverse wetland habitat in which Oxfordshire is fortunate to remain a stronghold.

Adam changed career into nature conservation in 2022, prior to that he spent two decades delivering sustainable transport in the public, private and higher education sectors. In his spare time, Adam enjoys botanising, climbing and runs OxEcology, an ecological contracting business specialising in tree work and fen restoration.

Anne joined the team in 2015 as Project Officer to coordinate the People Ponds and Water (PPW) project in Northern England –supporting volunteers to monitor, manage and protect freshwater wildlife. She continues to work with volunteers on Citizen Science projects across the North of England and beyond, carrying out training in clean water testing and eDNA surveys, as well as helping to coordinate the long term monitoring of Great Crested Newts. She also works on rare species conservation and has a particular interest in often overlooks species such as the aquatic fern, Pillwort, Slender Pond (Mud) Snail and the fascinating and much misunderstood Medicinal Leech.

Anne has a first class honours degree in Countryside Management, previously worked as a Project Officer for The Conservation Volunteers and is an active member of Yorkshire Amphibian & Reptile Group, Yorkshire Dragonfly Group and Yorkshire Mammal Group. Her various roles at Freshwater Habitats Trust combine her longstanding interest in all freshwater life, (with a particular affection for amphibians and dragonflies!), her volunteer engagement background and her desire to protect freshwater habitats and the creature that dwell within them.

Ioannis joined Freshwater Habitats Trust as Data and Monitoring officer for the Newt Conservation Partnership in December 2022. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science and an MSc with Distinction in Conservation and Biodiversity from the University of Exeter.

Previously, Ioannis worked for seven years in sea turtle conservation at his native Greece. During that time, he coordinated and took part in field surveys and monitoring work aimed to collect important ecological data related to turtle nesting.

He is very interested in the opportunities that modern technological advances offer to ecology and conservation. For his MSc research project, he deployed drones and geographical information systems (GIS) to create spatial 3D-models of coastal areas and predict the climate change impact on protected species and communities. He has presented his work at international conferences and he has contributed to workshops for drones uses in conservation.

Ioannis is very excited to use his data and science skills and support the delivery of evidence-based conservation interventions with the Newt Conservation Partnership.

Rachel supports Freshwater Habitats Trust’s Finance Manager with our day-to-day finance activities. She also works with other members of the core team, providing administrative support.

Rachel joined Freshwater Habitats Trust with more than 30 years’ experience of being an ACA (chartered accountant), having worked in accountancy practices and in the education and health sectors.

Outside of work, Rachel enjoys knitting and sewing, as well as walking and exploring historic sites with her husband.

Jenn joined Freshwater Habitats Trust as NEIRF (Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund) Project Officer in 2022. Over nine months, Jenn worked with partners and landowners to examine the potential of integrating the delivery of District Licensing for great crested newts with Biodiversity Net Gain off-site compensation.

Following the conclusion of the NEIRF project, Jenn is now the Buckinghamshire Project Officer and Biodiversity Net Gain Officer for the Newt Conservation Partnership. This involves working with landowners, land managers and farmers to create and restore ponds that are suitable as great crested newt breeding sites and helping with the management of terrestrial habitat for amphibians and reptiles.

Jenn holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from the University of Oxford, where she specialised in biodiversity and conservation. Prior to working at the Freshwater Habitats Trust, she spent three years working as a Countryside Ranger and Ecological Survey Assistant for the Greensand Trust.

She is excited to be playing an active role in the conservation and creation of high-quality freshwater habitat across Buckinghamshire.

Francesca joined Freshwater Habitats Trust Trust in 2013 to help with the development of the PondNet survey project. As this got absorbed into the People, Ponds and Water project Francesca then acted as the Southern Project officer for this project covering an area extending from Cornwall to Kent!

Francesca has worked in the Communications team and on a number of other projects. She is currently managing a project using citizen science to assess the presence of ponds and identify priority pond habitat in urban environments.

Francesca has an MSc in Conservation and Management of Protected Areas from Edinburgh Napier University. In her spare time, she enjoys drawing, running and walking in the countryside.

Lizzie graduated from the University of Exeter in 2016, with a BSc in Zoology, and from then continued to share her knowledge and interest in the natural world with people of all ages and backgrounds.

Since joining Freshwater Habitats Trust in 2022, Lizzie has enjoyed engaging with people from all over Oxfordshire in GroWet, part of our Building Oxfordshire’s Freshwater Network project, helping them to find an interest in our amazing wetland habitats and all the species that live in them – and shape their incredible ecosystems.

Ella is part of the core team which works to support projects officers and field staff in delivering ponds and terrestrial habitat for the Great Crested Newt.

Ella has previously worked as an administrator and local organiser for trade unions, as a teaching assistant schools and as a pet sitter, as well as working for a publishing company and pubs.  She has been a volunteer for Oxfordshire Badger Group, and as a dementia befriender for Age UK and has also volunteered for conservation projects, wildlife rescues, domestic animal shelters and community farms.

She recently finished (with a first) BSc in Animal Welfare and Behaviour from Oxford Brookes and was awarded with Top dissertation.

Evie is the Newt Conservation Project Officer for Oxfordshire. Her role involves working with landowners to create and restore habitat for Great Crested Newts to support the Councils’ District Licences.

She joined Freshwater Habitats Trust in 2022, as a Freshwater Futures Trainee, working on the Building Oxfordshire’s Freshwater Network project.

After completing a BSc in Geology in 2018, Evie volunteered for multiple organisations including practical conservation for the Suffolk Wildlife Trust and public facing/behind the scenes roles for various Oxford museums. She then went on to become an Environmental Monitoring Technician, working on sites across the midlands.

Alex is seconded to the Newt Conservation Partnership to support Councils’ District Licences in Gloucestershire. He is responsible for creating, managing and monitoring bigger, better and more joined up habitats for great crested newts.

Holding undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from Bangor University, he is particularly interested in amphibian behaviour, ecology and conservation. Since moving to Gloucestershire, he has worked in Local Government for several years, most recently as an ecologist at Forest of Dean District Council. As part of this role, he was responsible for supporting developers to use the District Licence, and provided advice on pond management. He is excited to be playing an active role in the conservation of great crested newts.

Sarah Hoyle joined Freshwater Habitats Trust in 2022, bringing 25 years’ experience in PR and communications. She works with colleagues across the charity to manage all of our communications activity, including social media, the website, internal communications and media relations. Sarah also works on the EU Horizon 2020 PONDERFUL project, for which Freshwater Habitats Trust leads the communication and dissemination work package.

During her career, Sarah has led press and PR teams for the Natural History Museum and University of Exeter, which involved communicating complex science and environment research. Through in-house and agency roles, she has run communications campaigns in sectors ranging from film, theatre and the visual arts to farming and financial services – always with a nose for a good story.

Sarah has held a life-long fascination with nature and is passionate about communicating Freshwater Habitats Trust’s work and issues relating to freshwater conservation to a wide and diverse audience.

Catherine joined Freshwater Habitats Trust in 2021 as a project officer for the Welsh Sustainable Management Scheme (SMS) for the River Irfon project. Her role was to start stakeholder engagement and promote the scheme locally to farmers and the communities. Water testing with walking groups and schools started to populate the catchment map with nitrate and phosphate readings. The new Nature Networks fund by the Heritage Lottery has continued the works from the SMS where ponds and wetland creation are the main aims, along with the citizen science GroWet project.

Catherine comes from an agricultural background, having been an agricultural journalist and then worked in agri PR for a number of clients. In 2012 Catherine joined the Country landowners Association Cymru and got involved in piloting collaborative farmer cluster schemes with Welsh Government, which have continued to grow and will now be part of the new Sustainable Farming Scheme in Wales starting 2026.

Alan is a nature lover and an enthusiastic freshwater ecologist, with diverse experience in conducting freshwater macroinvertebrate research, environmental education, biodiversity conservation, and wildlife photography.

Before settling in the UK in early 2022, Alan was educated and developed his career in Hong Kong. His PhD research study involved collecting and identifying more than 270,000 freshwater stream organisms, with his findings published in international scientific journals. Through his work as a lecturer at the Hong Kong Baptist University and a research assistant at the University of Hong Kong, he developed extensive experience in conducting ecological surveys in various habitat types, such as freshwater marshes and brackish waters. When he worked with WWF Hong Kong he carried out policy advocacy and public engagement exercises as well as formulating and implementing conservation projects to protect local biodiversity. Notably, he was one of the key players in transforming the design mindset of drainage improvement works in Hong Kong, from hard engineering-oriented to more ecologically-friendly approaches.

Shortly after arriving in the UK, he actively participated in volunteering activities with the Wiltshire Wildlife Trust to enhance his knowledge of UK biodiversity. This included conducting regular ecological surveys under the Riverfly Monitoring Initiative, removing invasive species in freshwater environments, and supporting various habitat management and species survey works. He enjoys travelling to different parts of the UK, and he continues to be amazed by its wonderful wildlife and beautiful landscapes.

As Floodplain Conservation Officer for the Oxfordshire-Buckinghamshire Freshwater Network project, Ellie works to restore, create, and protect historic floodplain meadows across the two counties.

Ellie joined Freshwater Habitats Trust in February 2022 as a Freshwater Futures trainee, working on the Building Oxfordshire’s Freshwater Network project. As a trainee, Ellie was involved in multiple different aspects of the project and assisted with carrying out species surveys, hydrological monitoring, habitat creation, community engagement, and social media content creation.

Before joining Freshwater Habitats Trust, Ellie studied Geography at undergraduate and more recently completed her MSc in Conservation and Biodiversity where she carried out research into the carbon storage potential of seagrass ecosystems in Cornwall, in addition to furthering her knowledge of ecology and nature conservation. Alongside her studies, Ellie volunteered with the Cornwall Wildlife Trust and BBOWT, where she has assisted with a range of practical conservation and community engagement work.

Becca returned to the UK from South Africa in 2023, having studied for an MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation Biology at the University of Western Cape. Her work in Cape Town focused on the conservation of the endangered African Penguin.

She joined Freshwater Habitats Trust with a wealth of administration, transcription and project assistant experience, gained through working with a county council, universities and in international education, as well as hands-on experience of working with penguins and other seabirds in wildlife rescue and aquarium settings.

She is excited to be combining her skills and knowledge in administration and conservation biology to support the work of Freshwater Habitats Trust and the Newt Conservation Partnership.

As a botanist and plant ecologist, David is enthusiastic about all plants whether they like their feet wet or not, but finds what plants do when things start to get soggy particularly exciting! Wetlands, especially rich-fens, are one of David’s main areas of interest, with extensive experience of surveying the vegetation of wetlands and investigating how wetlands work. At Freshwater Habitats Trust, he works on habitat restoration and creation projects, and carries out botanical surveys and research.

As well as working at Freshwater Habitats Trust, David is the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI) county recorder for Oxfordshire, surveying the county’s plants, managing BSBI’s data and working with other local volunteer botanists since 2016, and sits on the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management’s (CIEEM) Professional Standards Committee. David joined Freshwater Habitats Trust in 2021, after working as an ecological consultant for over six years.

Ed is the Berkshire Project Officer for the Newt Conservation Partnership, creating and restoring bigger, better and more joined up wildlife habitat for Great Crested Newt.

Prior to joining the team Ed worked for the Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust where his role included habitat creation and leading community projects.  He’s thrilled to be playing an active role in the conservation and creation of high-quality freshwater habitat across Berkshire.

Paola works as part of Natural England-funded Nature-based Solutions to Climate Change project. Her work mostly revolves around alkaline fens, an internationally important habitat that has undergone an extensive decline in the UK. She is helping to improve the conservation status of fens in Oxfordshire, planning programmes of conservation work on the project’s fen and peat sites, and developing future opportunities by working with landowners and identifying new income streams. Paola also helps with botanical surveys, volunteer work parties and the development of long-term management plans for the fen sites, many of them SSSIs.

Paola joined Freshwater Habitats Trust as a Freshwater Futures Trainee in 2022. As part of our GRCF-funded project Building Oxfordshire’s Freshwater Network project, she helped to create new wetland mosaics habitats for the benefit of people and wildlife at several Oxfordshire locations. She also worked on our community engagement project GroWet.

Although her main passion is for plants, Paola’s interest in the natural world is wide and extensive, including invasive species, invertebrates and functional ecology. She enjoys spending as much time outdoors as she can, on her spare time you can find her hiking, climbing and of course, botanising!

Paola has a BSc in Environmental Science, and a MSc in Wildlife Biology and Conservation for which she was awarded the University Medal.

Angela joined the Trust in October 2022 as a Project Officer for the Woodlands and Wetlands Project in the New Forest. In this role she works with landowners, contractors and volunteers delivering practical land management to create and restore high quality wetland habitat. By doing so we are aiming to increase the area and connectivity of high quality freshwater habitats for which the New Forest is internationally important.

Angela brings a range of experience to the Trust, having worked over the last 20 years for NGOs and local government in nature conservation roles in Dorset and Hampshire, delivering practical management, surveying and monitoring habitats and species, writing project bids, project managing, managing volunteers and engaging with local communities.

Ruth joined Freshwater Habitats Trust in 2023, bringing more than 20 years’ finance experience, including supporting a company to grow from £0 to nearly £5 million turnover. She also has seven years’ experience as a Company Secretary and significant HR experience. Ruth holds a BA (Hons) degree in International Business.

Working as part of Freshwater Habitats Trust’s core team, Ruth has responsibility for all aspects of the charity’s financial activities.

Danielle joined the team in 2024 and creates content to share the incredible work going on at Freshwater Habitats Trust and raise awareness of freshwater conservation.

Prior to her role as Content Officer at Freshwater Habitats Trust, Danielle gained a Biological Sciences BSc and Conservation and Resource Management MRes at the University of Liverpool. Recognising the importance of storytelling for conservation efforts, she went on to work as a Communications Officer for several conservation organisations, covering topics from bird conservation to forest certification.

Laura is the Office Manager at Freshwater Habitats Trust. She brings a wealth of project management experience to the role and supports with crucial administrative issues such as Health and Safety and Human Resources.

Laura previously spent 18 years at the UNDP’s Environment and Energy Unit in Zambia, where she developed experience managing and coordinating environmental programmes and teams.

On top of her office management duties, she hopes to acquire hands-on skills in freshwater management to enable her to create conservation-based social enterprises in Zambia that will make a lasting impact on the community and the environment.

Having graduated from the University of Plymouth with an MSc in Zoo Conservation Biology in 2019, Georgia has since built a career in conservation and environmental engagement. Georgia joined Freshwater Habitats Trust in October 2024 as an Engagement Officer within the New Forest Catchment Partnership. In her spare time, Georgia enjoys exploring the Forest with her dog, conducting amphibian and reptile surveys on nearby reserves and volunteering with local conservation organisations.

Through her work with Freshwater Habitats Trust, Georgia focusses on engaging local communities and visitors with the New Forest Water Code, raising awareness of the New Forest’s incredible freshwater landscape. She delivers events and talks across the New Forest emphasising the importance of freshwater habitats and the impact of climate change on this fragile landscape, and provides meaningful training and citizen science opportunities for early-careers conservationists and volunteers.

Gemma joined the team in September of 2018 as Project Assistant to the New Forest team. Gemma has been actively involved in the New Forest for over 10 years in a number of different roles and projects from managing volunteers for the Forestry Commission to woodland management and restoration for the New Forest Land Advice Service.

Gemma has a keen interest in freshwater habitats and through her monitoring role with the Wetland Restoration team has established citizen science projects in the New Forest including the Riverfly Monitoring Initiative and Modular River Surveys. She has a fascination for rare and unusual species and in her spare time monitors Marsh clubmoss for the Species Recovery Trust, and Noble Chafer for Buglife and is always equipped with her camera ready to capture the next specialist plant or insect when grubbing around in her wellies.

Stephen’s role includes site supervision, monitoring work, health and safety and providing general support to project officers across Freshwater Habitats Trust and the Newt Conservation Partnership.

With a background in retail management, Stephen enjoys cooking, hiking and experimenting with 3D printing.

Sam joined Freshwater Habitats Trust as policy officer in June 2024. He works with colleagues across the charity to push for improvements to national and local policy affecting freshwater habitats.

Before coming to Freshwater Habitats Trust, Sam worked as a British Ecological Society research fellow at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, where he produced a briefing for parliamentarians on wildfire risks to UK landscapes.

Sam holds a PhD in freshwater ecology and conservation from the University of Plymouth, where he studied the impacts of New Zealand pygmyweed, an invasive aquatic plant. His research involved field sampling in freshwaters across the UK, Belgium and the Netherlands, and many happy hours in the laboratory identifying invertebrates. His findings were published in international journals including Science of the Total Environment, Freshwater Biology and Hydrobiologia.

Catherine joined Freshwater Habitats Trust in November 2020, moving into conservation administration from a career in school business management. Previously working for a large Oxfordshire educational academy trust she has experience in people, financial and premises management, administration, systems management, HR, communications and safeguarding. Prior to this she worked in international conference and event management.

With two teenage sporty sons, a Labrador and good boots, she spends as much of her spare time as possible outdoors. In her current role she is determined to support and facilitate as best she can those practically working to improve and deliver better prospects for biodiversity.

Siân is a Catchment Project Officer from Mid Wales, with a background in biological research. Her recent Masters in Bristol investigated the role of polarization vision, specifically in cuttlefish and crabs. Following this, she went onto a few Research Assistant roles abroad; one being in the French Pyrenees, where she collected data on the impact of light pollution on the activity and navigation of nocturnal arthropods. Since then, she has explored her love for nature and conservation through volunteering with the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust and ‘Friends of the Upper Wye’ back in Wales.

Siân has a particular interest in aquatic environments and currently works on freshwater habitat creation and natural flood management projects in and around the South Midlands. She also supports the coordination of the Ock Catchment Partnership and Thame Catchment Partnership.

Adam joined Freshwater Habitats Trust in April 2024 to manage our Landscape Recovery project in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire. Adam brings over 10 years’ project management experience from his background in construction consultancy where he led teams to deliver technically complex office refurbishments. As a Chartered Surveyor Adam brings extensive leadership, technical problem solving and risk management experience to the Trust.

In 2023 Adam was awarded an MSc with Distinction in Global Health: Food Security, Sustainability and Biodiversity from Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Royal Holloway, University of London. The course provided a multidisciplinary lens on the global food system with a key focus on plants and agricultural systems. Influenced by his longstanding passion for growing food, his MSc research project collaborated with small scale agroecological farms to highlight the importance of crop diversity to the UK food system.

Adam has a particular interest in championing the voice of farmers and accelerating the regenerative agriculture movement to maximise climate resilience and food security. Outside of his professional career Adam is a keen gardener and has volunteered at Parent Action’s community garden as well as several local social impact organisations including FoodCycle and Trussel Trust.

Catherine is the Newt Conservation Project Officer for Milton Keynes. Her role involves working with landowners to create and restore high quality habitats for great crested newts to support the District Licence scheme.

She holds a BSc in Ecology from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and her dissertation was based on the emerging threats to the UK’s amphibian and reptile species. While studying, she enjoyed volunteering with all forms of wildlife activities, such as seal wardening, bird ringing and pond dipping.

When finishing her degree, Catherine was employed as a seasonal ecologist before going into an environmental consultancy role. In her spare time, she presents for the RSPB, chatting to the public about many different interesting ecological topics. Catherine is excited to be actively working in conservation and making a difference to habitats and species that are in decline.

Penny has worked for Freshwater Habitats Trust since its inception. With a background in ecology, conservation and geology, she has developed many of the concepts that underlie the Trust’s work, such as the critical importance of clean water, the value of ponds (including temporary ponds and new ponds) for biodiversity and the development of the PSYM algorithm for assessing waterbody quality.

Penny has a particular interest in determining how to protect and restore freshwater biodiversity at a landscape scale and her ground-breaking work on the comparative biodiversity of different waterbody types has influenced national freshwater policies and had an international impact. Her successful design and monitoring of the Pinkhill Meadow wetland complex, in Oxfordshire, provided the basis for the Trust’s Million Ponds Project.

Penny’s more recent research has looked at nature-based measures, Natural Flood Management techniques, habitat design for biodiversity and the success of rare wetland plant introductions – the latter leading to the development of the Trust’s GroWet project.

Hannah first joined the Trust in April 2015, assisting on the national People, Ponds and Water project. Through this she was able to expand and explore her love of freshwater wildlife, and visit some of the most stunning ponds and freshwater landscapes in the country. After this project finished, she left Freshwater Habitats Trust to develop her skills and knowledge with the Rivers Trust movement and later returned in 2020 to work on many of the Trust’s catchment projects. In particular, this has included overseeing the North Bucks Freshwater Resilience Project and Pitsford Water Friendly Farming, as well as coordinating the Thame Catchment Partnership with co-host the River Thame Conservation Trust.

Kate joined the Trust in 2021, undertaking a partnership role with the Nidderdale AONB as a Priority Ponds Project Officer.  Kate came to us from ecological consultancy where she gained experience surveying for great crested newt among other species. She has an honours degree in Environmental Science through the Open University, and an MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation from the University of Leeds.  Kate has previously volunteered with the Trust, surveying her local ponds as part of the PondNet project, and carries out voluntary surveys through the Yorkshire Amphibian & Reptile Group.  Though professing a fondness for amphibians, Kate has a broad ecological background and is also a bat carer through the Bat Conservation Trust.