Ecology Academy Podcast

Welcome to an enthralling episode of the Ecology Academy Podcast, where host Richard Dodd is joined by special guest Nikki Glover, a Senior Ecologist at Wessex Water renowned for her innovative newt detection techniques. Our dynamic conversation delves into Nikki's essential contributions to large-scale development infrastructure projects, her diverse career path, and her unique use of detection dogs for ecological conservation.

Ni...

Welcome to the Ecology Academy podcast hosted by Richard Dodd. In this episode, we delve into the transformative journey of Jon Cranfield, a herpetofauna specialist and director of Herpetologic Limited. Starting from his childhood passion for ecology, we journey through his extensive experience dealing with protected species and examine his commitment to ecological conservation through his role with Hampshire Isle White Amphibian a...

Welcome to a special series of the Ecology Academy podcast, dedicated entirely to understanding the fascinating world of great crested newts. As spring arrives, we delve into in-depth discussions with leading experts to shed light on this unique species.

Over the upcoming weeks, we'll be presenting interviews with established authorities in the field. We start our series with John Cranfield from Herpetologic Limited, continue with ...

Join us in this informative episode of the Ecology Academy podcast, hosted by Richard Dodd, as we explore the complexities of the rapidly changing world of ecology. We delve deep into recent ecological developments, updated guidelines, new regulations, and the impact of technological advancements on the field. This episode aims to inspire listeners, whether students, professionals, or nature enthusiasts, to embrace change with a gr...

***HAPPY NEW YEAR***

In the first episode of 2024 Richard talks about how to maximise getting the hire  process right and how to avoid or minimise biases. In the podcast Richard outlines the following key stages:

1. Identifying the Need for a New Role

2. Creating a Detailed Job Description

3. Advertising the Role

4. Screening and Shortlisting Candidates

5. Conducting Interviews and Assessments

6. Reference Checks and Background V...

In this episode Richard interviews Jim Mullholland and talks about veteran trees, bats, training, virtual Preliminary Roost Assessments (PRA's), research into veterinisation of trees and can we do better in looking for bats, plus so much more!

Jim observes that since the commencement of the Bat Tree Habitat Key project, our knowledge of tree roosting bats has increased dramatically. Despite this, standard tree surveys yield poor re...

Richard interviews Neil Middleton from BatAbility Courses and Tuition. Together they talk about bats, business and some life tips on how to deliver presentations and overcoming the fear of other people's opinions.

Bio

Neil has substantial experience in business management, consultancy, people development, training & the associated skills associated with running SME businesses. As well as being the owner & managing directo...

In this episode Richard talks with Peter Wharton of Wharton Natural Infrastructure Consultants Ltd. on the joys and challenges of leading and managing a small consultancy business. 

Pete openly talks about his journey, including his education, career and mental health. The conversation discusses the importance of values, resilience and fortitude, dispelling the myth that business owners know what they are doing at all times and rug...

In this episode, our host, Richard Dodd, delves into the world of coaching and mentoring, exploring their definitions, roles, applications, and how to choose between the two. We also share success stories and discuss potential challenges in these relationships. Finally, we provide tips on how to find a suitable coach or mentor. 

Talking Points:

1. Defining Coac...

In this interview Richard talks with Rosie about her role as an in-house ecologist. Together they discuss the differences between the role of working as a 'clean' consultant ecologist and those of the in-house 'expert' within a company or organisation. The challenges of working in a creative and visual way, as opposed to the more text-based reporting. 

Rosie Pope is the first in-house ...

Richard talks on today's show with Jeremy Smith on why we should take data seriously. On the show Jez tells us why we need to think and ask more questions to help solve real life problems such as biodiversity loss.

Jez Smith

Jez is a research ecologist for the British Trust for Ornithology using data analysis to help understand the trends in bird demography. 

He is also one of the directors at Eco-Explore a company founded by eco...

In this episode Richard interviews the highly engaging and enigmatic Suzi Cross, Managing Director for Ecosulis.

Suzi Cross has been Managing Director of Ecosulis Ltd for the last few years, having first joined the company in 2004 as a Senior Administrator. She specialises in Quality, Health and Safety, Employee Engagement and Wellbeing and has a passion for the outdoors. Running a values-lead organisation is something...

In this episode, Richard 'talks' to ChatGPT. He talks about what he's been using ChatGPT for and what it could be used for.

ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence language model developed by OpenAI. It is designed to process natural language input and generate responses in natural language. It has been trained on a vast corpus of text data, which allows it to understand a wide range of topics and converse with users ...

Misho is a dual-qualified environmental consultant, working across both ecology and arboricultural disciplines working at Wildwood Ecology, based in Stroud. Misho openly discusses the skills needed in both disciplines including complimentary and crossover skills (e.g. field surveys, data capture and...

Career exploitation refers to situations in which an employer or work environment takes advantage of an employee for their own benefit, often at the expense of the employee's well-being and long-term career prospects. This can take many forms, such as paying employees less than they deserve, not providing adequate opportunities for growth and development, or assigning them work that is outside of their job description or skill set.

We all need to make plans, but more importantly take action in implementing them!

This episode is not aimed to help you set goals, but instead it is focused on how to be a better manager. Whether you are a first line manager or a senior executive, we all need the tools to help us support ourselves and others.

If you're just starting out, you can download a copy of our Skills Wheel and Guidance Notes which will help you to make a st...

During this episode, host Richard Dodd interviews Dr Nicholas White, Principal Adviser on Net Gain for Natural England, and discusses what skills we need as ecologists to help deliver Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). We get to hear Nick's insights into the Environment Act and the delivery of BNG, the newly updated biodiversity metric, standards, and guidance, as well as marine net gain!

Our Guest

Nick works across Government (at both a...

This month’s episode is from a discussion which was recorded as part of a live Q&A session for students at Nottingham Trent University during the delivery of our six-week Career Accelerator for Aspiring Ecological Consultants course for 2nd and final year students studying for a BSc in Wildlife Conservation.

Throughout the six weeks, students gained a thorough understanding of; the role of an ecological consultant and ecological co...