For the fourth time in a row the Poaceae walk took place between Marske and Saltburn, early June. This event is organised through the BSBI (Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland), who for the first time managed the booking this year - so a great thank to the support team. We were fully booked, 18 people turned up including the VC 62 botany mascot Benny who features the pictures below.

A massive thanks to my employer and the partners that make delivering this training possible: Teesside University, Field Studies Council, RSPB Saltholme, the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, the Chartered Institute for Ecology and Environmental Management, without forgetting the owners of the field sites visited during the courses and the employers of the attendees that appreciated the great value of the courses.

Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) is consulting on proposals for the Local Nature Recovery Strategy to be implemented across the region. Local Nature Recovery Strategies (LNRSs) were established b...

What a privilege to survey ecology and habitat change following beaver introduction with this repeat surveys from 2019, 2021, 2024 and now 2026. Thank you to Forestry England for leading this fascinating beaver trial and for facilitating these surveys. The key findings so far have been published in Smith et al 2026 and in this wider public brochure. Thanks for help in the field to Edward and Miles this year, to Austine and Ezekiel in 2024 and to Ed in 2019.

In June and July 2026, I was fortunate to meet and train 20 professional ecologists during Field Studies Council courses. We focussed on botanical skills to identify families of flowering plants, including the notorious grasses, sedges and rushes, but we also tried to go beyond and explored a variety of plants, characters to watch out for and the link with habitat types.

This CPD course delivered from Middlesbrough and visiting quality habitats in the local area was attended by a terrific bunch of ecologists, PhD students, conservationists, reserve warden, etc. Despite the heatwave, we had time to practice making sense of vegetation, this big green wall that appears impenetrable at first to the eye, and identify the individual plant species, classifying habitat types using plant species assemblages, indicator species, etc.

The studentship that supports PhD candidate Ed Hearn is now featuring the latest good news for the University and was picked up by the BBC! This work falls within my interest in monitoring change during rewilding and will strengthen existing research in this area. It reads as follows: The four-year project, a collaboration between the conservation team at RSPB Saltholme nature reserve and PhD researcher Ed Hearn, will examine how rewilding can reverse bird declines and shape future conservation work across the UK.

A four-year project is set to analyse the benefits the presence of Tamworth pigs has on other species.

In 2026 I am offering an even greater range of opportunities to skyrocket your botanical skills: Plant and Habitat Identification Skills short course at Teesside University: Three-day Course / 24th…

Smith, M. W., A.Puttock, M. J.Klaar, H. Thomas, L.L. Handley, R. Brazier, G. Bradbury, A. Baker, A. Hanson, N. Gibbons, K. Gittens, T. Spencer, C. Bashforth (2026). Whole System Ecohydrological Change Following Natural Flood Management and a Five-Year Beaver Reintroduction Trial. Ecohydrology 19, no. 4: e70238. ABSTRACT Once-common beavers have been absent from the British landscape for centuries, but wild beaver populations have returned in recent years as part of reintroduction schemes, including releases into monitored enclosures.

I am still buzzing from this opportunity for Austine and I to present some of our research work on rewilding to such a lovely and enthusiastic audience. It was so nice to see a diverse crowd, including past students and colleagues. Off the Ground, the hosting venue was excellent and packed, as I understand tickets sold out. I'll come back again when it is less busy!

Join this Rewilding SIG event dedicated to presenting and sharing research between PhD students.

We’ve developed Britain’s first framework for monitoring rewilding progress, demonstrating its vital role in creating ecological, social and economic…