Benjamin Phillips Email & Phone Number

I'm currently working on the RENEW (Renewing biodiversity through a people-in-nature approach) project. The project aims to put people at the centre of action on biodiversity renewal and build expertise across different sectors and communities to address the environment and climate crisis. I am working with Prof Kevin Gaston, Dr Becca Lovell, Dr Lewis Elliott, Dr Jo Garrett, and colleagues at Natural England, the National Trust and other partner organisations. Our role on the project is to better understand individuals' engagement with nature to improve the effectiveness of the methods used by environmental organisations to develop support for nature recovery.

I worked as part of a team to develop a Species Conservation Strategy pilot for hazel dormice, led by Prof Robbie McDonald, and funded by Natural England.

Penryn, Cornwall

For my PhD (2017-2021), I studied the potential of road verges for conserving nature, and for providing broader environmental and social benefits, such as storing carbon, mitigating pollution, and improving people's access to nature. This work was supervised by Prof Juliet Osborne, Prof Kevin Gaston and Prof James Bullock. I worked in partnership with the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) unit and various conservation organsations and highways managers to develop and communicate road verge management advice. For a summary of this research, see the webinar below that I led alongside partners from Plantlife and Butterfly Conservation.

I worked with academics in the Environment & Sustainability Institute (ESI) to maximise the impact of their research. My role included facilitating collaboration and commercialisation by linking up with the Innovation, Impact and Business (IIB) team, collating evidence for impact case studies, and building a portfolio of interdisciplinary research projects.

I worked on the Wessex Biodiversity and Ecosystem Service Sustainability (BESS) project (part of the BESS programme, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)), which aims to understand how biodiversity underpins the ecosystem functions and services that landscapes provide (see http://wessexbess.wixsite.com/wessexbess). I worked at the University of Exeter, under Dr Ros Shaw and Prof Juliet Osborne, investigating the role of beneficial invertebrates to crop production in terms of pollination and pest control. I assisted with field work (invertebrate sampling), laboratory work (invertebrate identification and analysis of yield), and data entry (including database management).

Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Australia

I assisted with research into the behavioural ecology of social insects, specifically in the ant species Temnothorax albipennis, studying recruitment behaviour and collective decision-making. This took place in the research group of Prof Nigel Franks at the University of Bristol. Initially, I was supported by a 6-week undergraduate research grant to support an independent research project, awarded to me by the Society of Biology. This then led to employment as a research technician, under Dr Daphna Gottlieb.

Doctor Of Philosophy - Phd, Biology/Biological Sciences, General

Doctor Of Philosophy (Phd), Ecology

My current research is exploring the biodiversity that hedgerows and road verges support, and the benefits that this biodiversity provides.

Master'S Degree, Ecology

I completed a Masters by Research degree at the University of Exeter, under Dr Ros Shaw and Prof Juliet Osborne. I worked on the Wessex.

Bachelor Of Science (Bsc), Biology, General, First Class Honours

Education record