Our team

As well as engaging with members of the public along the Solent, we work with our partners on many projects which help protect our coastal birds. We hope you’ll come and say hello if you see us out and about on the coast or at events.

Here, alphabetically, is a little about each member of our team:

Alice is our dog initiatives community engagement ranger, working closely with Shona on our Coast and Country Canines project. With a background in wildlife organisations and education, Alice raises awareness around wildlife aware dog walking through social media and website engagement.

You will also find her engaging with dog walkers through a whole range of events, such as our guided waggy walks, local pop ups and representing Coast and Country Canines at shows.

Alice is often accompanied by one of her enthusiastic canine companions, pictured here, called Conrad, who also enjoys walks along the coast.

Anna, our partnership manager, joined Bird Aware at the start of 2017. Her role is to make sure the team successfully fulfils our strategic aims and to keep staff and our 19 partner organisations updated on anything relevant. She’s more desk based than other people in the team, though she still finds time to get out and about on the coast.

There’s no such thing as a typical day for Anna: she might be sharing the project goals with local politicians one day, then have her head down and writing reports the next. She enjoys working with our passionate and expert team, and also appreciates the opportunities she gets to visit our stunning coastline.

Charlotte is our senior ranger and outreach lead and has been with the team since 2019. Before this, Charlotte had a range of roles in wildlife conservation and education. Usually based on the Isle of Wight, you will occasionally see her on the mainland too for events and walks along the coast.

In her role at Bird Aware Solent, she organises the events and outreach programme, as well being our resident photographer. Charlotte has written an excellent guide for wildlife photography enthusiasts to help them stay wildlife aware when out on the coast: read her advice in her blog post Responsible photography at the coast.

Christina is our Volunteer Coordinator and will be developing and leading a new volunteer programme, creating opportunities for individuals to get involved, build skills, and make a real difference in protecting our coastal wildlife.

With a degree in Wildlife Conservation and a background in practical conservation and volunteer leadership with the RSPB, Dorset Wildlife Trust and Hampshire County Council Countryside Service, Christina brings valuable experience to the role. She is keen to make sure volunteering with Bird Aware is accessible, rewarding and enjoyable for everyone.

Eloise joined the Bird Aware team in the summer of 2024, bringing with her a passion for wildlife education, and a background in zoo engagement and ecology.

As one of the team working on our social media and blogs, Eloise puts her creative skills to great use as content creator, as well as connecting people with the incredible birdlife along the Solent coastline when she’s out and about or running guided walks and events.

You’ll often find Eloise out on the coast: she’s always happy to talk all things bird, so don’t hesitate to stop and say hello.

Izzy is our Community Engagement ranger and content creator for both Bird Aware and Coast & Country Canines. Combining experience in social media with a practical background in countryside work, Izzy is passionate about inspiring people to enjoy the coast while helping protect the birds and habitats that make the Solent so unique.

Her role is to help share the work we do and raise awareness of how people can enjoy these spaces responsibly in a creative way; you will also find her out and about at a range of events engaging with people of all ages. Izzy has a passion for the outdoors and a love for all animals, keeping a small variety of her own livestock from chickens to sheep. You will often find her accompanied by her four-legged companion Rusty.

With a degree in environmental resource management and experience in land management and conservation-focused public engagement, Joe has always been passionate about protecting nature and inspiring others to do the same.

In his role with Bird Aware Solent, he focuses on community engagement, particularly through the Watersports with Wildlife initiative. With a background in surfing, kayaking, and working in the watersports industry, he loves combining his knowledge of the coast with his enthusiasm for wildlife to help people enjoy the Solent responsibly.

When he’s not out on the water or chatting to coastal visitors, you’ll likely find him birdwatching, exploring nature, or planning his next outdoor adventure.

Kate works with one of our partner organisations’ in-house design team to create the brilliant signs, posters, leaflets and designs which help spread our important messages throughout the Solent area.

Among other partnership development work, she also works with the ranger team to share information about the work they do – and about our amazing wildlife – through Instagram and Facebook. And if you want to keep up-to-date with news about Bird Aware, don’t forget to subscribe to our quarterly newsletter.

Natalie is team manager for Bird Aware Solent, having inspired people along the coast as a ranger in the partnership since 2017.

She plays a vital part in managing the ranger team, keeping an eye on all the projects within Bird Aware Solent whilst also delivering new ideas for the future.

Working closely alongside Anna behind the scenes, Natalie’s manager role is more office-based than our rangers, but you will still find her out on the coast and at our public events.

As dog industry outreach coordinator, Penny brings a wealth of experience and a deep passion for animal welfare to her role with Coast and Country Canines. With a professional background spanning zoo animal training, wildlife conservation, and education, she has worked with learners of all ages — from early years to adult professionals.

Her career has included working with animal management professionals, where she championed best practices in animal care and behaviour, promoting behaviours that benefit both animals and people.

A lifelong advocate for rescue dogs and an enthusiastic birder, Penny is excited to connect with organisations in dog industry. She looks forward to building strong partnerships that support the wellbeing of dogs and their communities across coast and country.

Rachel is our Community Engagement Ranger, with a particular focus on creating signage and interpretation that inspires people to connect with and care for the Solent and its remarkable birdlife.

Her background spans public engagement and design roles across the arts, heritage and conservation sectors, including with the National Trust.

When she’s not busy helping others to connect with nature, Rachel can usually be found walking the coast or countryside with a camera or sketchbook in hand. A keen photographer and artist, she is continually inspired by the natural world and loves sharing that sense of wonder with others.

Richie is our senior ranger and wildlife aware guides lead. He is responsible for developing the code of conduct and watersports with wildlife project, a series of resources aimed at watersports users about how to be wildlife aware when practicing their sports, as well as communicating with partners, harbourmasters and landowners to develop projects.

You’re most likely to see Richie around Chichester and Langstone Harbours but his role takes him to lots of different areas around the Solent Coast.

Serena’s role in Coast and Country Canines’ is all about raising awareness of wildlife friendly dog walking through pop-ups, guided waggy walks and other events.

Serena is a true dog lover and can’t wait to have her own, but in the meantime she’s really enjoying meeting lots of different dogs while she’s out and about engaging with local people around the Solent. So if you see her, be sure to stop and say hi.

As our monitoring expert, Tom has more of a desk-based role than the rest of the team – if you should be so lucky as to spot him in the wild, it could be anywhere on the Solent. His typical day is very variable, usually involving monitoring Bird Aware Solent projects on site, analysing results of surveys, or writing reports. It’s his job to analyse the data we collect to make sure we’re doing the right things in the right locations and in the most effective way. ⠀
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He’s been with us now since 2022, having previously worked with The Wildlife Trusts in Alderney, and Hampshire and the Isle of Wight in conservation and ecology. ⠀

Last, but certainly not least is Tony, who’s been a ranger with the team since 2022. You’re most likely to meet Tony along the New Forest coastline and Southampton waters.

With a lifelong love of nature and birds, and a long career in education spanning 20 years, Tony makes for an inspirational presenter and guide on our many birdwatching walks. Visit our events page to find out more.

Tony is a great believer in the positive impact of birdwatching and nature on our wellbeing, which he loves to talk about in blog posts such as Birdwatching: Good for the soul. Also keep an eye out for his fantastic digiscoping footage from along the coast on our social media pages.

And an honourable mention to the Coast and Country Canine dogs…

Finlay
Assistant Waggy Walks Ranger

Conrad and Fergus
Assistant Waggy Walks Rangers

Bonnie
Assistant Ranger in Training

Rusty
Assistant Ranger in Training