• Director of Education, School of Life Sciences 2019-2022

• Undergraduate (UG) Courses: Fisheries Ecology, Marine Ecology, Marine Vertebrates, Biodiversity and Conservation, Marine Biology Field Skills. 

• UG Module Supervisor:  Marine Biology Field Skills, Biodiversity and Conservation, Conservation Management & Practice, Fisheries Ecology, Conservation Management Field course.

• Postgraduate Courses: Tropical Marine Systems, Marine Zoology

Mersea Island sediment recharge:
mobile field technologies and students as citizen scientists.

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The problem: Due to coastal squeeze and SL rise the small offshore islands around the Blackwater estuary and Mersea are eroding.

Mersea Island is famous for its fishing heritage, in particular the Colchester oyster (Essex natives, Ostrea edulis) - islands protect the harbour – used for fishing and leisure

Solution: Use dredged material from Harwich and Felixstow channel deepening work to recharge key areas on the islands

First need to understand what flora and fauna currently present in the habitat BUT costly to employ consultants and not enough man power/expertise available within trust. This is where students as citizen scientists can help: 

•From 2015-2017, 124 students surveyed a total of 93 transects, total number of hours = 248 man hours of survey work.

•Normal cost = c.£15 000 for consultant survey work, FREE! 

•This only accounts for consultant rate, not overheads, boats etc.

• BS 114 Marine Biology Field Skills:  Rocky shore ecology and experimental design, Scotland

• BS 256 Tropical Marine Research Skills

• BS 307: Oceanography and Marine Conservation: Samos, Greece

Plastic Free Schools

Surfers Against Sewage

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