Open data from day one
Every survey we publish comes with its raw counts, so a council officer can check our maths without emailing us.
About
I grew up two fields from the sea and never really left it.
My parents kept cattle on a farm that ran down to a sandy bay. I spent childhood summers counting crabs in rock pools, and I still keep the notebook. Ecology turned out to be a way of getting paid to keep counting.
How I run the lab
Small group, shared data, field days that everyone joins at least once a term.
Partners in the room
Harbour boards and fishing cooperatives sit in our project meetings from the first month, not just at the final report.
Fieldwork that is safe and kind
Nobody goes out on a falling tide alone, and nobody is expected in the water in November to prove a point.
Credit where it is earned
Students lead the papers built on their fieldwork. My name goes last, where supervisors belong.
Beyond the lab
- Current
Board member · West Coast Seagrass Partnership
Advise on where restoration planting is worth the effort and where protection alone will do.
- Current
Outreach lead · Corrib Institute of Marine Science
Run the spring low-tide walks for primary schools in three coastal parishes.
- Past
Expert reviewer · National mooring licence review
Wrote the ecology chapter on how moorings should be placed near protected meadows.
Planning a coastal project nearby?
If you manage a harbour, a bay or a slipway and wonder what grows under it, I am glad to talk.