I am an ecologist, with a research focus on behavioural and population ecology in the marine environment. My main interests are in individual and/or geographical variation, how these scale up to the population or ecosystem level, and the implications for conservation and policy. 

My interests also lie in teaching, public outreach and engagement. I have worked in community outreach and outdoor learning, including as a Royal Society Partnership Scientist developing a marine education programme with local schools. I enjoy working with citizen scientists, and believe strongly in the value of engaging the non-academic community in answering ecological questions, to the benefit of both the participants and the science. 

I am currently working as a coordinator for the Capturing our Coast project in Scotland. This large-scale project will (hopefully!) be the largest marine citizen science project undertaken in the UK, training and supporting thousands of people to survey their local coastline and provided unprecedented widespread data on intertidal species distribution and ecology. The project is led by Newcastle University and has a range of academic, non-governmental and charitable partners working in partnership.