James joined BSG in October 2023
James has a varied ecological background including practical nature reserve management experience in woodland, reedbed and grassland habitats and productivity monitoring of Welsh seabird populations. He has also led aerial surveys of waterbirds and cetaceans in coastal waters around the UK and has expertise in identification of species from surveys using high-definition video.
James has experience in project managing ecological survey and wetland habitat creation projects and designing a range of wetland habitat features. He holds a FISC Level 5 and has undertaken botanical surveys on projects using various techniques including Phase 1, NVC and Common Standards Monitoring. James has worked on linear infrastructure habitat creation and restoration projects which demonstrated biodiversity benefits, where vegetation management was needed for safety reasons. This also involved undertaking HRA assessments, organizing SSSI assents and procuring protected species licenses.
James has been involved in project management of windfarm, solar and remediation projects and botanical survey in upland and coastal habitats.
Outside of work James birdwatches the upper Severn Estuary, attends BSBI field meetings and volunteers on nature-based projects in Gloucestershire, including a Dormouse monitoring scheme. In 2022 he completed a PGCert in Flood and Coastal Risk Management from Lancaster University.