Meet the organising committee

Helen Greaves (Pond Restoration Research Group, University College London, UK) Twitter: @helenmgreaves

I am the current secretary of the European Pond Conservation Network as well as secretary of the Norfolk Ponds Project. As a member of the UCL Pond Restoration Research Group, my PhD research focusses on the impact of pond restoration on aquatic invertebrate communities in historical, agricultural marl pits which are numerous in several areas of lowland England. This work has extended to a number of public engagement projects including the ‘Great Twin Pond Dig’ and the ‘BIG 50’ (www.norfolkpondsbig50.org).

Matt Hill (University of Huddersfield) Twitter: @Mhill846

I am an early career researcher interested in the community assembly processes organising freshwater taxonomic and functional diversity. My research particularly focuses on landscape-scale biodiversity patterns and ecosystem functioning of aquatic habitats in human dominated landscapes. I am also interested in the landscape-scale conservation and management of pond networks, and how ponds can be better incorporated into environmental policy.

Alan Law (University of Stirling, UK) Twitter: @AlanLaw_

My research revolves around freshwater environments; the most important ecosystems on our planet, in my opinion. I have recently started a lectureship at University of Stirling which is allowing me to build on my expertise in freshwater science and indulge my love of freshwater biodiversity to help answer three fundamental research questions that have amazed me since my undergraduate days; i) what is that?, ii) why is it here? and iii) what does it do? I’m particularly interested when freshwater systems interact with community ecology, rewilding and species reintroductions, and I spend an inordinate amount of time looking at invertebrates and the impact of beavers on aquatic landscapes.

Pascale Nicolet (Freshwater Habitats Trust, UK) Twitter: @PascaleNicolet

I am a Technical Director at the Freshwater Habitats Trust and have over 10 years of experience in the delivery of practical pond conservation and twinned research in the UK.

Carl Sayer (Pond Restoration Research Group, University College London, UK) Twitter: @carlsayerUCL

I am a Professor in the Department of Geography, University College London, where I lead the Pond Restoration Research Group. My pond research focuses on the fields of restoration ecology, conservation biology, resurrection ecology and palaeoecology, with a particular focus on farmland pond landscapes. I am the co-founder (with Helen Greaves) of the Norfolk Ponds Project, a multi-partner pond conservation project which is delivering pond restoration in Norfolk, eastern England.

Richard Walton (Newcastle University, UK) @informed_enviro

I am a Research Associate in The School of Geography, Politics & Sociology at Newcastle University and a contributing member of the Pond Restoration Research Group. My pond research has focused on the fields of conservation biology, ecosystem services, aquatic-terrestrial linkages, and palaeoecology, with a particular focus on farmland pond margins as pollinator habitat and using palaeoecology to inform pond restoration targets. I am currently studying the effects of human-induced changes to aquatic ecosystems in tropical megadeltas, including a variety of pond types, in order to improve the relationships between the local environment and the people who live there.