Meet the BIG Biodiversity Challenge Awards 2018 Judges
Geraint Rowland
Infrastructure Environmental Manger - Costain Group plc
Geraint is a chartered environmentalist (IEMA) and a Chartered Waste Manager (CIWM) with 10 years’ environmental management experience within the construction industry. He also spent 5 years in regulation and environmental protection as a Senior Environment Officer in the Environment Agency. He is responsible for environmental performance on Costain’s broad portfolio of schemes within the rail, highways and nuclear sectors. He has led on the strengthening of Costain’s biodiversity management procedures to include measurement and push towards net gain. He has also created strong ties with the Wildlife Trust, setting up a framework agreement to support their consultancies, and established Wild Wellbeing volunteering within the Company.
Louise Clarke
Head of Sustainable Places – Berkeley Group
Louise is Head of Sustainable Places at the Berkeley Group and is responsible for setting and implementing the group’s strategy to create sustainable places. This includes focusing on key commitments for the business on climate change adaptation, social sustainability and sustainable procurement. Louise has specialised in sustainability throughout her career and has a keen interest in placemaking which stemmed from her masters in Urban Design.
Louise is a Non-Executive Director of Construction Industry Council (CIC), sits on the Green Construction Board and chairs the CIC 2050 Group, a group of young professionals within the construction industry.
Matt Tompsett
Kier Highways - Senior Environment and Sustainability Manger
Matt is the Senior Environment and Sustainability Manger for Kier Highways and is responsible for setting the companywide steer for environmental and sustainability issues. Matt started his career working for a habitat conservation charity before moving into Highways about 10 years ago. He is a Chartered Environmentalist through IEMA and an active member of the HTMA Sustainability Group, Linear Infrastructure Network (LiNet) and has worked with CIRIA on developing guidance on Green Infrastructure on Linear Assets. Matt is based in the South West were he helps identify, design and deliver environmental improvement schemes on the strategic road network.
Szilvia Zakar
Sustainability Manager - Sir Robert McAlpine
Szilvia is a Sustainability Manager with Sir Robert McAlpine currently working on the flagship Bloomberg London project. Szilvia has 15 years’ experience, advising and monitoring site construction teams with regard to environmental protection and the implementation of ISO 1400 and BREEAM. She leads SRM’s Biodiversity Action Group. As part of the Chartered Institute of Building sponsored Sustainability Scholarship (2015 -16) Szilvia carried out her research on “Valuing Natural Capital in the Construction Industry”. Before joining SRM in 2011 she worked as a Senior Consultant at BRE for 5 years and as an Environmental Advisor on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link for Skanska UK Civils.
Jasmin Barwig
Aecom - Associate Director
Jasmin is an Associate Director at AECOM. She is an experienced ecologist with particular knowledge of protected species issues in the context of development. She has been the technical lead on a variety of large scale and small scale infrastructure and development projects. Her technical specialisms include, Environmental Impact Assessment and field skills in botanical and protected species surveys. Jasmin’s technical ecological work relates to development proposals, from initial feasibility studies, through Environmental Impact Assessment, to coordinating ecological survey work and developing sustainable mitigation measures for protected species.
John Day
RSPB - Urban Advisor
John is Urban Adviser for RSPB. His work involves supporting and advising colleagues within the RSPB, as well as externally advising and working with architects, landscape architects, green space managers and developers to promote and encourage delivery of a multi-functional built environment for people and wildlife.
Tom Butterworth
WSP- Technical Director for Biodiversity
Tom leads the work on Biodiversity Net Gain for WSP and supports clients in public and private sectors in meeting their objectives and targets for development together with their objectives for wildlife.
With over 20 years’ experience working for wildlife, over time Tom has led practical management of SSSIs, developed local, regional and national biodiversity strategies and policies, led programs of research and managed the delivery of the Government’s biodiversity strategy. As Natural England’s Principal Advisor for Biodiversity Tom gained experience working with developers, wildlife organizations, community groups and local authorities to enable development while supporting biodiversity. Today Tom brings these skills to the delivery of net gain for biodiversity through a range of development and land management projects.search on the ecology of wildlife diseases and specifically, the effects of wildlife behaviour on the spread of disease.
David Whitehorne
HS2, Ecology Lead - Phase One
David is a Chartered Environmentalist with over 30 years experience working in nature conservation, biodiversity and ecology, within both the public and private sectors. He has led major projects from initiation to implementation, including developing a conservation area in North Kent, receiving an award for the management of the Malvern Hills, and leading ecology for the Steart peninsula coastal management project. He has expertise in ecological planning, survey, design and implementation for major transport and infrastructure schemes. David is currently Ecology Lead for HS2 Phase One, where he has developed the ecological delivery programme and has responsibility for managing the delivery of the extensive ecological mitigation and compensation measures.
Dr Martina Girvan
Technical Director - Arcadis
Martina is a Technical Director of Ecology and Arboriculture with Arcadis. She has a background in terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem function and joined consultancy following a career in academia, with a short time spent in local government as the Greater Manchester BAP officer. In addition to managing a team of ecologists and the arboricultural business at Arcadis she undertakes major impact assessments for a wide range of national and international developments. She is a Chartership assessor with CIEEM (the ecology disciplines professional body) and regularly contributes to best practice guidance. The integration of biodiversity and society is a lifelong passion, she is currently developing the Arcadis natural capital approach in the UK.
Hannah Bilston
Principal Ecologist – BSG Ecology
Hannah has been an ecological consultant for over 10 years and is currently a Principal Ecologist at BSG Ecology. She specialises in protected species and in particular bats. Hannah has particular interests in how provisions for wildlife can be designed into new developments. Wildlife installations she has been involved with range from green roofs with water features in very urban environments to bat barns, pond and meadow creation in more rural locations.
Rosie Whicheloe
Landscape Ecologist – London Wildlife Trust
Rosie’s new role will be to work with developers and design teams providing strategic ecology advice to some of London’s largest regeneration projects. She has over 8 years’ experience in biodiversity planning, green infrastructure and habitat assessment and design. Past projects at The Ecology Consultancy have included an Appraisal for sustainability for HS2 northern routes, a green grid strategy for a central London Business Improvement District and a review of wildlife sites for a London borough. Rosie is on the committee for the international association for Landscape Ecology UK Branch and editor for their online newsletter.