I’m Vanessa Lloyd, Geckoella’s ecologist. I joined Geckoella in 2021 after completing an MSc in Environmental Consultancy at the University West of England. I have a particular interest in freshwater and marine environments and I am Geckoella’s lead River Condition Assessment qualified surveyor, and so I am often found on a river bank completing Modular River Physical (MoRPh) surveys as part of various development Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) obligations. Recently, I have undertaken extensive surveys of approximately 18 km of watercourses within the Lower Otter catchment as part of a landscape nature recovery project. I am also working towards gaining a Natural England Licence for White-clawed Crayfish and Beaver.
A typical day for me may be full days of fieldwork involving botanical surveys for Preliminary Ecological Appraisals and BNG condition assessments, and protected / notable species surveys including a favourite for me; kayak surveys for Water Vole and Otter. I have also led on bat activity and emergence surveys for both residential and large infrastructure projects. Other days will involve data crunching, reporting and managing projects from the desk, including GIS mapping and acoustic analysis.
Vanessa Lloyd on Crayfish Survey
