Staff Profiles - EPR

Barney Scott – Principal Ecological Consultant

Barney joined EPR from a multi-disciplinary environmental and engineering consultancy, having been a key figure in their ecology department for over 9 years. As a Chartered Environmentalist, Barney possesses the high level of expertise and skill that helps distinguish EPR from its rivals and brings over a decade of combined experience to the role. With a bachelor’s in Zoology and a master’s in Biodiversity and Conservation, he recently led a team of 11 ecologists.

As part of the EPR team, Barney manages and oversees a range of exciting projects, including residential and commercial developments, energy projects and infrastructure projects, and helps to deliver evidence based, pragmatic solutions for EPR’s clients. Barney holds Natural England Class Survey licences for bats, Great Crested Newts and Hazel Dormice. With a strong track record of designing and implementing successful ecological mitigation strategies and producing of a range of technical documents, Barney is an important part of EPR’s technical team.

Barney has worked extensively on ecological impact assessments for large-scale infrastructure projects including roads, rail and power schemes, therefore his appointment helped to strengthen and diversify EPR’s core service offering in those sectors.

Last but not least, Barney is a warm and wise member of our EPR family and is a working parent, as Dad to his two young children.

Natalie Compton – Principal Ecological Consultant

Natalie joined EPR as a Senior Ecologist with over 8 years’ experience working in ecological consultancy. Her main area of interest is UK mammals with a focus on bats, Badgers and Hazel Dormice. Natalie is also a qualified tree climber with almost 3 years’ experience in conducting aerial tree climbing assessments, for both bats and Barn Owls.

Natalie works with a great team of experienced ecologists at EPR and hopes to continue to hone her experience in development mitigation strategies in relation to developmental impacts on protected UK mammals.

Natalie says ‘I hope the British ecosystem in 20 years will show an increase in diversity of both habitats and species with an increase in greenspace, connectivity and opportunities for wildlife. I hope through EPR’s continued work with biodiversity net gain that development and infrastructure will incorporate biodiversity at the heart of its design, to leave an area with increased opportunities for biodiversity as a result of sustainable development.’ Natalie is a vibrant team- player and a hardworking member of our EPR family.

Lastly, in terms of her balance of life, Natalie’s favourite thing to do outside of work is hiking with her beloved dog, a gorgeous Hungarian Vizsla called Django.

Sean Manley – Senior Ecologist

Having joined EPR in 2018, Sean is a respected Ecologist and is based in our Eastern Region. We asked him a few questions…

What is it like to work for the Eastern Region office?

It’s a relaxed and team-orientated atmosphere where all team members can contribute to internal and external initiatives to deliver the ‘WHY’ and ‘VALUES’ based work that we often aim towards. I was able to personally feed into development of our ‘WHY’ with my interest and passion for providing opportunities for people to connect with wildlife-rich green spaces, near to where they live.

What do you enjoy the most in your role at EPR?

I work on biodiversity net gain opportunities on large projects where we are able to work closely with our clients, to bring forward high quality wildlife-rich spaces included within the urban design in planning applications. I also thoroughly enjoy getting out of the office and onto site to lead, organise and complete a range of protected species surveys including reptiles, bats, badgers, Hazel Dormouse, Great Crested Newt, Botany and BNG.

What makes work fun for you?

Due to our values-based work I am able to often visit sites with other knowledgeable staff members, where I get the opportunity to learn lots and find scarce species. I also love the aspect of ‘treasure hunting’ and applying field skills to identify historic ecological landscape features and rare species often unnoticed within the countryside.

What is your favourite British species?

I have a particular fondness for Lowland Calcareous grasslands and Ancient Woodlands, which remind me of the North Downs where I grew up.

What is your top tip for anybody aiming to become an Ecologist?

Be unashamedly enthused and passionate about wildlife! Be an eco-geek and get involved in wildlife work outside of work to build your experience.

Matt Robinson – Ecologist

Matt joined us in April 2023 on a student placement from Reading University as part of his Masters course in Species Identification and Survey Skills. After a month or so with us, Matt passed on some thoughts on his bat survey training at EPR:

During my first month at EPR, I’ve had multiple opportunities to go on bat survey training. My first session was training on walked transects around Warfield, near Bracknell, where I had my first real experience of a bat survey. I found it really exciting to use the bat detector to hear the bats and also be able to see them flying overhead. I found the whole experience really validated my desire to pursue this field of work.

I’ve had further training on transect surveys at Shawford where we walked a stretch of the river Itchen and saw a variety of bat species, such as Common Pipistrelle, Soprano Pipistrelle, and Daubenton’s. We had amazing luck to see these species in the quantity that we did, which gave me a great opportunity to start getting my ear into differentiating the differences in their calls and learning how they behave.

I’ve also undergone training on dusk emergence surveys at Laverstoke Mill, which was a real eye opener for the amount of detail that is recorded and how much concentration is needed to find emerging bats and where they go. This was a great experience and really showed me how much experience is needed to do these surveys.

Overall, the bat training I’ve had so far has been thoroughly enjoyable and I can’t wait to experience more bat surveys as the season progresses.

Jonathan Singlewood-Dodds – Assistant Ecologist

Jonathan joined EPR in July 2024 as an Assistant Ecologist after gaining valuable experience through extensive volunteer work with bird observatories, including Spurn and Bardsey — part of the Bird Observatories Council. With a background in Zoology from the University of Reading, Jonathan developed a passion for ecology and a commitment to hands-on conservation work. He has volunteered with organisations such as the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), picking up useful skills as he assisted with surveys.

At EPR, Jonathan is already actively involved in a variety of projects and survey work. His role covers both fieldwork and desk-based tasks, such as bird territory mapping—a key exercise for understanding the importance of the bird assemblage associated with a site — and associated reporting. He’ll soon be involved in winter bird surveys, investigating the distribution of species and what areas they use, focusing on Special Protection Areas(SPAs).

Jonathan also spends time at Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory as a trainee bird ringer under BTO licence. This involves capturing birds, placing uniquely numbered metal rings on them, and releasing them — playing a crucial role in studying bird populations and migration patterns. His commitment to bird conservation reflects a lifelong fascination with nature, which began in his teenage years; since then he has been exploring local areas and continuously expanding his knowledge of the wildlife around him. He hopes to lead a winter bird identification training session for his colleagues at EPR soon and share the skills he has acquired!

Jonathan believes that getting hands-on experience is crucial for anyone wanting to pursue a career in ecology. His own volunteer work has taught him important lessons about being in the field, conducting surveys, and building strong interpersonal skills.

So far, Jonathan has found the team at EPR to be incredibly warm and welcoming, allowing him to fit seamlessly into his role. When he’s not working, you can find Jonathan out hiking and enjoying the great outdoors.

Chris Mungo – Principal Ecological Consultant

Chris joined EPR in 2011 as a seasonal field ecologist with a long-standing interest in the natural world, having decided to specialise in ecology following experience working in a multidisciplinary environmental consultancy.

Since joining EPR, Chris has progressed through the company, becoming a Principal Ecological Consultant in 2017. The majority of his time is now spent on varied project work. Chris specialises in bat ecology, having taken advantage of EPR’s training programme to secure his Natural England bat license back in 2013, and is often involved in complex bat projects. Since 2016 he has been working alongside some very talented bat ecologists on an exciting project in Devon: the team has developed and is now implementing a complex mitigation strategy centred on the retention and protection of a large roost (150-200) of Lesser Horseshoe bats.

Chris enjoys the diverse range of work at EPR. When he’s not engrossed in project work, he oversees the company marketing and social media activities and works collaboratively with fellow staff to asses and reduce the company’s environmental impact.

Chris is passionate about learning new skills and particularly values the training opportunities EPR provides – in addition to the regular internal workshops, he regularly attends conferences both as a delegate and exhibiter, and this year he completed a tree climbing and aerial rescue course. This complements his typical workload which provides a good mix of fieldwork, problem solving, client-facing tasks, and practical implementation. This means that Chris collaborates across the team at EPR and sees the depth of talent firsthand.

During his time at EPR, Chris has seen the company support and empower young ecologists to make a significant and positive project contributions. More recently this is being embedded through EPR’s ‘Company is Community’ initiative, which means an emphasis on collaborative working, keeping staff happy, safe and well, whilst embracing the unique needs and talents of staff to grow the company in a way that meets the needs of the business and people.

Chris is a big advocate of EPR’s focus on staff development which is encouraged through a mix of training, mentoring and on-the-job learning. Since joining, Chris has accrued an array of valuable project experience including housing, infrastructure, road, energy, and conservation-related work. He has also managed some of EPR’s higher profile projects including survey and assessment of the South Kensington Estate of the Natural History Museum where he coordinated site wide surveys – including on the roofs of the iconic Waterhouse building, which provided a very unique view!

Chris’ advice for those wanting to enter the industry is twofold: firstly, get as much experience with local organisations as possible to develop survey skills and pinpoint what interests you most. Secondly, keep up to date with the ecology sector. It is always evolving, be it the latest Biodiversity Net Gain requirements, approaches to assessing nutrient neutrality, use of night vision aids for bat surveys, updates to survey guidelines, etc… Keeping track of this evolving landscape will be easier if you can talk to ecologists, join local organisations, or attend CIEEM events.

If you are interested in a career at EPR, please visit our careers page to find out about current vacancies.