Biography
I am professor of Teaching and Research in Environmental Biology at Edinburgh Napier University. I am fortunate to combine research into coastal ecology with teaching and the scholarship of teaching. My PhD research was on food webs in estuaries, and I still work in these fascinating places, here in Scotland and overseas (particularly in Kenya). I have spent nearly two decades working with local communities dependent on mangrove resources to understand their ecosystems better and to use this science to help restore their environments and bring community development benefits. As a committed educator I enjoy teaching ecology, environmental science, environmental ethics and scientific methods to a wide range of students and volunteers. I also research pedagogical questions arising from my own practice and from the needs of students, including new ways to assess and give feedback and how to include students in the co-creation of learning.