WWT Consulting prides itself on providing its clients with a professional and scientifically robust service. Our team of scientific and design professionals consistently delivers specialist, expert advice rooted in a thorough understanding of natural wetland ecosystems as well as design, planning and development processes.
In addition, the core team is supported by experts drawn from WWT's Conservation Directorate and Regional Centres. Our Associate Consultants have extensive national and international experience in pure and applied research into the conservation of wetlands and their associated habitats and species.
WWT Consulting team
Emma Alesworth - Principal Consultant
Emma has more than ten years' experience in interpretation and visitor centre planning, having managed a wide range of visitor centre and interpretation projects, both in the UK and abroad. As a senior member of the team Emma is responsible for providing specialist interpretation and exhibition development skills. She has expertise in visitor centre masterplanning, including interpretation planning, access and audience development, business planning, budget management, content research, exhibit development and evaluation, graphic co-ordination, and working with a wide range of exhibition specialists.
As a project manager she is responsible for the successful delivery of a diversity of projects ensuring all material is delivered accurately, on time, within budget and, where necessary, all fabrication is signed off prior to installation. Notable projects include content management of the £50 million (10,000 sqm visitor centre and 64 hectare) Hong Kong Wetland Park and a number of visitor centre masterplans including East Kolkata Wetlands in India, Xi Xi Wetlands in China and similar smaller projects such as Nottinghamshire Center Parcs Nature Centre and concepts for the Dokka Delta Wetland Centre in Norway.
Dr Matthew Simpson - Principal Consultant
Matthew has more than 12 years' experience in wetland assessment and management, having managed a wide range of wetland habitat research and management projects around the world. He has expertise in wetland habitat creation and restoration assessment, design and construction, water budget determination, hydrological modeling, water quality assessments and the development of practical wetland management tools that integrate ecological, hydrological and biogeochemical assessment techniques with socio-economic and health assessments of wetland resource use.
As a senior member of the consultancy, Matthew is responsible for the successful delivery of a diversity of projects. Notable examples include development of decision-support systems for local management of tropical wetland ecosystems within Vietnam and Guyana and habitat concept designs for East Kolkata Wetlands Masterplan. He has also organised international workshops and training courses for local government, universities and communities, and lectured on subjects such as Wetland Ecosystems, Hydrological Processes, and Functioning and Geographical Issues.
Rebecca Woodward - Principal Consultant
Rebecca has more than ten years' experience in ecological surveying and wetland habitats, having managed a wide range of ecological and wetland habitat projects. She is a senior member of the team, responsible for providing specialist ornithological and ecological advice within the consultancy and has worked on a wide range of wetland-related projects, both in the UK and overseas. In addition to her bird monitoring skills, Rebecca has expertise in mammal and crayfish surveys, assessing wetland habitats, providing management, mitigation and enhancement recommendations, and producing and implementing Biodiversity Action Plans.
As a project manager she is responsible for the successful delivery of a diversity of projects. Notable projects include ongoing aerial surveys of waterbirds in strategic wind farm areas for the Department of Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, a Mangrove Centre workshop in Mumbai, study of Laysan Duck in Hawaii, and the wintering ecology of Anatidae at Mai Po Inner Deep Bay, Hong Kong.
Phil Shepherd BSc – Senior Consultant
Phil is responsible for providing a range of wetland-related specialist advice and field skills to the consultancy. With long-standing service at WWT, Phil has a wealth of hands-on experience of wetland creation schemes with detailed knowledge of the functioning of wetland ecosystems and experience of wetland habitat creation projects, management, monitoring techniques and data analysis. Trained and experienced in aerial survey techniques, and with a lifelong passion for birds, Phil's specialist ornithological skills are utilised for surveys in the UK and overseas.
In addition to his ecological expertise, his background in civil and structural engineering provides complementary skills that include the production of design and detail for clients on a range of engineering structures and project/ site management of construction projects up to £100m. These include providing recommendations for a Shorebird Exhibit and the development of designs for the Rhino and Elephant reedbed water treatment system at Twycross Zoo.
Marie Orchard BSc – Senior Consultant
Marie joined the team from a background of managing a wildlife visitor attraction and brings more than seven years' experience in natural history exhibition interpretation, design and management to the consultancy. Her skills are utilised to provide advice in interpretation and visitor centre masterplanning and she specialises in the installation and maintenance of live animal and plant displays. She also holds some field survey experience, having conducted wintering waterfowl counts for the RSPB and worked on the biodiversity survey of Ben En National Park in Vietnam.
International project work for the consultancy includes advising on the content and concept design of live exhibit installations for Xi Xi Wetlands Centre, China, and her previous experience includes concept design, content development, access and audience development and project management for both static exhibition galleries and traveling exhibitions, including a series aimed specifically at the Under 8s audience. Her most significant achievement was securing funding for, and implementation of, a £2 million exhibition and learning project which included the design and installation of the UK’s first walkthrough living tropical coral reef display that opened in Bristol, UK, in October 2005.
Dr Ian Griffin – Senior Consultant
Ian has been involved in academic research and consultancy for nine years and has expert knowledge in the fields of freshwater ecology, hydrology and fluvial geomorphology; monitoring the physical processes and ecology of river and wetland systems. He has a broad range of skills and expertise and has particular interest in river and wetland design, engineering, habitat restoration and sustainable urban drainage.
Initially trained as a botanist, Ian has since conducted UK-wide studies of rivers and floodplain wetland systems and has also worked as a researcher overseas. His doctorate studies focused on the geomorphic and ecological development of a large river diversion project, conducting a multi-disciplinary monitoring and appraisal programme. This gives him extensive experience of the impacts of engineering works on physical and biological processes and valuable insight into appropriate design and construction methods, monitoring, assessment and mitigation techniques.
Dr James Furse-Roberts - Senior Consultant
James has more than six years' experience of interpretation and visitor centre planning and also utilises the knowledge and experience he gained whilst researching his PhD in Botanical Garden Creation and Management. He has expertise in business planning, access and audience surveys, content research, exhibit evaluation, exhibit and botanic garden design.
James is responsible for providing specialist interpretation and visitor centre planning advice within the consultancy and has worked on a diversity of projects in the UK and abroad. Examples include: a review of the business plan and facilities for a new visitor centre near Manchester (UK); the Dokka Delta Wetland Centre fundraising proposal (Norway); the development of an interpretation plan for a wetland restoration project in Alpiarça (Portugal); and the concept design for a new visitor centre on the Rogerstown Estuary near Dublin (Ireland).
Jon Mellings - Consultant
Jon has been an ecological consultant for more than seven years. He has considerable field experience and possesses excellent botanical and entomological identification skills gained through surveying and appraising a wide range of both terrestrial and wetland habitats. He has expertise in a range of ecological survey techniques (including Phase 1 and NVC botanical, freshwater and terrestrial invertebrates, waterbirds, Badger, Water Vole, and herptiles), water quality monitoring, biodiversity applications, and habitat management planning.
Jon’s ecological skills are complemented by strong illustration, design and interpretation skills developed during an earlier career as a natural history illustrator/ designer. As a Consultant, Jon has managed and worked on numerous field and desk-based projects for a variety of private and public sector clients, including ecological monitoring for Sheepdrove Organic Farm Treatment System and Droitwich Biodiversity Action Plan.
Gareth Bradbury – Consultant
Gareth has over eight years' experience in wildlife monitoring and conservation projects. He has conducted, analysed and reported surveys on a wide range of taxa, including Breeding Bird Surveys, seabird counts and productivity monitoring, herpetofauna (including Great Crested Newt), invertebrates, vegetation and water quality.
As a Consultant, Gareth works on and manages a range of projects. He regularly conducts aerial surveys of sea ducks and seabirds as part of WWT Consulting’s Aerial Survey Team, and is also a team leader and trainer of new aerial surveyors. In addition to survey work, Gareth has substantial experience in interpretation for wetlands, having assisted in the conception and research for the Hong Kong Wetland Park. He has also assisted in the concept design, build and monitoring of wetland creation and is skilled in database design and Geographical Information Systems (GIS).
Anne Harrison - Consultant
Anne has significant experience of practical wetland management and invasive species removal, developed through an MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation, and previous work for WWT. She has expertise in a range of survey skills including seabird aerial surveying, riparian mammals, UK amphibians and aquatic plants. She is also experienced in wetland habitat creation and restoration, content research for interpretation projects, devising management recommendations and Species Action Plans, and has considerable experience in using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and statistics packages.
As a Consultant, Anne has worked on a range of field and desk-based projects that include a full-time winter commitment as a team leader and aerial surveyor of waterbirds in strategic wind farm areas. She has also worked on development of exhibits for the Budongo Forest enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo and a number of wetland inventory projects using her expertise in GIS.
Beatriz Lopez – Assistant Consultant
Beatriz has more than six years’ experience in wetland conservation, including wetland management, environmental education and waterfowl survey co-ordination in both Spainand the Americas. She worked for several years on wetland conservation in the Neotropics at NGO level, being responsible for coordination of waterfowl surveys and serving as primary contact for scientific and technical enquiries. Her major duty was the creation of an active network of volunteer surveyors in 13 participating countries collecting reliable data that is now being used to designate wetlands of international importance. She also gained field skills working on constructed wetlands management at Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge, Texas, USA.
Beatriz joined the consultancy as a member of the Aerial Survey Team. This involves conducting aerial surveys of seabirds around the UK coastline, whilst also contributing to the wider work of the consultancy.
David Naismith – Assistant Consultant
David was previously employed by WWT and has three years’ experience managing the Rearing Facility for WWT’s Slimbridge Wetland Centre. He brings a wide range of skills to the consultancy through his experience in avicultural practices, coastal habitat restoration and management, cetacean survey work, sea bird monitoring and arboricultural survey work. Additional experience has been gained through the design and construction of specialist sea duck and crane rearing facilities, as well as design and implementation of bio-security protocols and monitoring and mitigation for Avian Influenza.
David joined the consultancy as a member of the Aerial Survey Team. This involves conducting aerial surveys of seabirds around the UK coastline, whilst also contributing to the wider work of the consultancy.
Dr Nicola Goodship – Assistant Consultant
Nicola holds more than eight years’ experience in biological research. Throughout her research career she has been involved with ecological, physiological and conservation work on birds, mammals and amphibians. With a strong interest in birds, Nicola possesses a range of ornithological fieldwork skills including bird ringing and ecological bird survey work and has carried out research projects on birds living in a range of ecosystems within the UK and abroad.
Nicola has extensive experience in data interpretation, statistical analysis, project design and collaboration with other researchers, as well as scientific writing skills producing reports aimed at multiple audiences. She has published scientific manuscripts and given several oral and poster presentations at national and international conferences. Nicola has also been a lecturer and tutor for university undergraduate Biology classes and assisted honours students with field and laboratory work.
Nicola joined the consultancy as a member of the Aerial Survey Team. This involves conducting aerial surveys of seabirds around the UK coastline, whilst also contributing to the wider work of the consultancy.
James Darke – Assistant Consultant
James has more than six years' experience in ecological surveying. He is experienced in a range of ecological monitoring techniques, such as Common Bird Census, Breeding Bird Surveys and productivity monitoring of seabirds. He has been involved in protected species project work, such as Great Crested Newt translocation, Dormouse monitoring and Otter surveys, and has also carried out and reported monitoring projects for butterflies, moths and scarce plants. James has knowledge and practical experience in the management of a variety of habitats including woodland, reedbed, grassland and heath. James previously worked as a Warden for Skomer Island Nature Reserve and prior to this has worked abroad, including the biodiversity survey of Ben En National Park in Vietnam, and raptor migration counts at the Kekoldi Indiginous Reserve in Costa Rica.
James joined the consultancy as a member of the Aerial Survey Team. This involves conducting aerial surveys of seabirds around the UK coastline, whilst also contributing to the wider work of the consultancy.
Michael Shackshaft – Assistant Consultant
Michael has significant experience of field survey work in the UK and overseas, gained through academic study of both ecology and geology and also from volunteer work with a number of wildlife charities and organizations. He spent six months working for an NGO in Zambia, where he assisted with the development and completion of surveys for a wide range of taxa, including mammals, birds and insects, and was also responsible for the training and leading of groups of volunteers in the field. He has also conducted surveys of migratory birds over the Straits of Gibraltar and a research project investigating the potential impacts of climate change on a protected Alpine beetle species in Wales and Russia, which was carried out in conjunction with the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW).
Through his MSc in Conservation and Biodiversity he has also developed a range of complementary skills including the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the application of Phase 1 habitat surveys, report writing and data handling and analysis. Michael joined the consultancy as a member of the Aerial Survey Team. This involves conducting aerial surveys of seabirds around the UK coastline, whilst also contributing to the wider work of the consultancy.
Jason Coombs - Assistant Consultant (CAD)
Jason has over four years experience of landscape architecture, having worked both for a landscape architecture practice and as a freelancer. Working in the commercial, private and public landscape sectors has provided him with good background knowledge of all aspects of the industry.
As an Assistant Consultant, Jason is responsible for creating and managing the consultancy’s CAD based drawing output. This includes the production of plans, diagrams and digital models that convey data or design proposals. His experience as a landscape designer enables him to contribute to the design of planting plans and technical detailing.
Jason also has previous experience as both a horticulturalist and arborist working in heritage garden management for the National Trust.
Monica Gilbertson - Office Manager
Monica's is the voice you'll hear when calling WWT Consulting. She ensures that the office runs smoothly and provides full-time administration support to the Principal and Senior Consultants.
Shirley Baggs - Office Administrator
Shirley's part-time position works closely with the Office Manger to provide office administration support to the consultancy team.