Plants, People and the Planet

About me

I am a research scientist at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, where I study plants, their role in human society and the climate and biodiversity crises.

My core expertise lies in seasonality and biological rhythms (phenology), climate impacts on tropical forest ecosystems, urban biodiversity and climate adaptation.

I publish scientific papers in international journals, communicate research findings to academic and public audiences and provide policy-relevant briefings to governments.

In 2017 I founded the African Phenology Network and am keen to hear from African scientists and those interested in African phenology to lead on this initiative.

Why plants?

Plants are incredible. There are ~350,000 plant species with >1000 species new to science described every year. Plants create the foundations of our living planet and we rely on them for food, clothing, shelter, culture and medicines.

There is still so much to be learnt from and about plants, but many of them might be lost before we have the chance. 2 in 5 plants are threatened with extinction due to human activities such as change of land use, over-harvesting and climate change.