Dr Caroline Nash

A UEL graduate, Caroline was awarded a PhD for research at UEL developing and monitoring innovative urban green infrastructure (UGI) designed to benefit nationally important brownfield biodiversity that is threatened by new development. The research generated state-of-the-art green roofs and ground level urban landscaping, designed using the novel process of ecomimicry, to emulate some of the ecologically valuable niches found in 'Open Mosaic Habitat' (a Priority Habitat that supports important declining invertebrate communities). The study was part of the EU FP7 project TURAS and was supported by Natural England and Buglife - The Invertebrate Conservation Trust. The research had real-world impact, being co-created with a developer to provide targeted UGI measures to meet biodiversity mitigation targets for their major new development in East London.

Caroline is currently working on the Connecting Nature EU Horizon 2020 project, helping to support cities across Europe and beyond in delivering nature-based solutions. Within the project, her role is focused on upscaling technical design and developing and delivering evaluation indicators for nature-based solutions. Caroline is also helping to deliver the ERDF funded project ARENA, and so far has been providing research and development support to SMEs and nature-based enterprises on monitoring whether their products are delivering for biodiversity, and helping them develop environmentally and ecologically-sensitive solutions that support biodiversity net-gain.

Caroline has over ten years professional experience as an ecological consultant, with an emphasis on protected species surveys; primarily bats and birds. She holds a Class 2 Natural England bat survey licence and has worked on large and small scale development projects, providing surveys and planning reports. Caroline is also an experienced ornithologist, carrying out breeding and winter bird surveys for a variety of commercial and nature conservation projects. She has experience in Preliminary Ecological Appraisals and a range of other protected species work.