About Ethos

Jim is the founder and Managing Director of Ethos (established in 2014). With over 30+ years of experience in ecology, green infrastructure, and parks management, Jim's career spans roles as an environmental consultant and work within local authorities. His academic and practical expertise in environmental and business management has driven Ethos to become one of the UK's leading environmental consultancies.

Jim's understanding of clients' commercial needs ensures effective project delivery, a key factor maintaining Ethos's growth and dedication to client retention and satisfcation. He has served as an expert witness for local authorities and developers and holds a level 2 accreditation on Natural England’s Bat Earned Recognition scheme, reflecting his commitment to his work.

Steph joined Ethos in 2018 as an ecologist and now serves as the principal ecologist. Her role includes managing projects, leading site visits, and writing complex reports and protected species licence applications. With several years of experience in ecological consultancy and fieldwork, Steph previously worked for a large multi-disciplinary consultancy before joining Ethos.

Steph is a licensed great crested newt and hazel dormouse surveyor and a Full member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM). She volunteers as a Mentor for the CIEEM Mentoring Scheme, assisting graduates and other ecologists with career progression. Her passion for wildlife conservation began in West Yorkshire and continued through her studies at the University of Plymouth, where she earned a BSc Hons in Marine Biology and an MSc in Environmental Consultancy. Her dedication to hazel dormouse conservation includes volunteering in North Somerset and Bristol for the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme.

Sarah joined Ethos as a senior ecologist in early 2018 and supports diverse development projects. She is an experienced project manager, working closely with clients and design teams to provide ecological advice that meets client goals and enhances biodiversity. Sarah is involved in all development stages, from scoping and surveys to planning assessments and mitigation strategies.

Before Ethos, Sarah was a Natural Environment Officer for a local council, ensuring compliance with biodiversity and legislative matters. Her early career in environmental planning within the railway industry and engineering consultancies provided a strong foundation in ecological impact assessment. Sarah has extensive experience with bat surveys and mitigation, is a qualified tree climber, and actively participates in local bat groups, conducting bat box checks and hibernation surveys.

Rachel is a seasoned ecologist and conservationist with over 15+ years of experience. After graduating from Newcastle University with an honours degree in Zoology, she pursued a diverse career focusing on ecology, marine conservation, and environmental education. Her past projects include a Heritage Lottery Fund application for the Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust, initiating an environmental education program for a macaw reintroduction project in Costa Rica, and working as a wildlife guide off the West Coast of Scotland.

Rachel joined Ethos several months after its inception in 2014 and has significantly contributed to the company's growth into a thriving business with around 20 employees. As a Principal Ecologist, she oversees the ecology department, ensuring that surveys are conducted according to good practice guidelines and report deadlines are met. Rachel still enjoys fieldwork, conducting habitat assessments and protected species surveys, and holds class licences for bats.

Kane has been with Ethos since 2014, starting as an apprentice environmental planner and assisting with various ecology projects. Over the past decade, he has advanced to senior ecologist, gaining skills in protected species surveys, biodiversity net gain, report writing, and GIS mapping. Kane holds an NVQ Level 2 Certificate and Diploma in work-based environmental conservation and is an associate member of CIEEM. He has protected species licenses for bats, great crested newts, and dormice, and is involved in monitoring projects in North Somerset and Wiltshire.

As a Senior Ecologist at Ethos, Kane conducts comprehensive habitat assessments and has extensive on-site experience as an Ecological Clerk of Works. He supervises site activities, ensuring compliance with environmental regulations and promoting biodiversity conservation. His expertise and dedication have been crucial to the successful completion of numerous projects.

Martin retrained and graduated from the Royal Agricultural University in 2017 with a First-Class degree in Countryside Management (Wildlife and Ecology). Now, he is an ecologist with over three years of experience in ecological field survey and consultancy. Specializing in small mammals, Martin has worked on several conservation projects, including acoustic bat analysis in Namibia and small mammal trapping in Gloucestershire. He holds a Class 2 licence for bats and a Class 1 Dormouse licence.

At work, Martin is responsible for comprehensive habitat assessments, habitat mapping, data analysis, report writing, and conducting various protected species surveys. His expertise in small mammals and dedication to conservation make him a valuable asset to his team and the projects he undertakes.

Kate has been an Environmental Planner at Ethos since 2015, specializing in open space and green infrastructure (GI) assessments and strategies. With experience managing over 17 projects, she is a certified Building with Nature Assessor and a Full member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM). Her expertise includes delivering multifunctional green infrastructure solutions that meet various planning policy requirements, such as flood mitigation and biodiversity enhancement.

Kate's background in parks management includes overseeing Green Flag Award sites, nature reserves, and a SSSI/SAC. She previously managed volunteer groups and provided ecological advice in a local authority role. She holds a BSc Hons in Biological Sciences from the University of Plymouth and has experience surveying protected species and botanical identification with Somerset Environmental Records Centre (SERC).

Emily is a Senior Environmental Consultant at Ethos since 2018, leads community engagement and manages strategies, assessments, and frameworks for our Strategy and Policy team. She specializes in environmental strategies for local authorities, including open space assessments, play strategies, green infrastructure, rights of way surveys, and biodiversity strategies.

Previously, as a Sites Manager at Ecotricity, Emily managed landowner relations for renewable energy sites, led project negotiations, and conducted feasibility assessments. She holds a BA Hons in Geography from the University of Portsmouth (2013) and has experience in sustainability from a voluntary role at the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust.

George has been with Ethos since 2015, starting as an apprentice and now serving as a Senior Environmental Analyst. He specializes in biodiversity net gain, ecology reports, surveys, and GIS mapping.

Currently, George is enhancing his skills in drone imagery and mapping to refine the accuracy of ecological assessments. He also leads GIS support, ensuring efficient data collection for clients. His goal is to advance Ethos’s expertise in biodiversity net gain and provide clear, expert advice, further establishing Ethos as a leader in the field.

Joe Bamforth, an ecological consultant since 2018, joined Ethos in 2021 after earning a BSc in Marine and Freshwater Biology and an MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation. At Ethos, Joe conducts surveys for protected species and produces biodiversity net gain and ecological assessments.

He specializes in protected species surveys, ecological impact assessments, GIS mapping, and data analysis. A Qualifying member of CIEEM, Joe is pursuing protected species licenses for bats and great crested newts and holds qualifications in tree climbing (CS38 NPTC Level 2), a CSCS card, and First Aid Level 3.

Joe’s main focus is conserving mammals and reptiles by minimizing impacts and enhancing habitats. He has extensive experience in bat surveys, reptile and amphibian translocation, and assessing habitats for various species. He also serves as an ecological clerk of works for diverse projects.

Katie joined Ethos in January 2022 during a student placement for her Master’s in Environmental Consultancy and became a permanent team member upon completing her degree. She assists with surveys for protected species, writes ecological reports, and has worked as an Ecological Clerk of Works on small projects. Katie holds a CSCS card and plans to pursue a protected species survey license.

At Ethos, Katie is notably involved in bat call analysis and field surveys, with a keen interest in reptile translocations and bat roosts. She recently completed a course in River Condition Assessments, merging her ecological interest with her Earth Sciences background.

With extensive customer service experience, Katie excels in managing small projects and client relations, aiming to enhance conservation outcomes through strong working relationships.

Matt joined Ethos in the summer of 2018 as an ecologist, and is now working as a Senior Ecologist after proving capable of managing a range of projects and having a vast range of experience. Matts specialism is bats, where he holds a class 2 bat licence from Natural England and has led projects covering a range of species, including some of the rarest in the UK. Matt is also a well trained and competent field ecologist, with good species and habitat identification skills. He enjoys days out of the office undertaking the initial survey visits to make an assessment of the initial value of the site and advise on what further, if any, species surveys are required.

Matt has lead projects for Ethos including large scale developments of near 100 residential units and smaller scale projects of conversion of agricultural buildings. Matt has a high standard of work and likes to complete projects from initial site visit to discharging any ecological conditions that may be associated with a planning condition.

Sarah joined Ethos as a Seasonal Ecologist in 2019 and secured a permanent position in 2020, thanks to her exceptional work ethic and eagerness to learn. Specializing in ornithology, she holds a Class Licence (CL29) for barn owl surveys and monitoring, a CSCS card for construction site safety, and is a Qualifying member of CIEEM. Sarah’s professional focus includes integrating wildlife-friendly features into urban designs, such as bird bricks and Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS).

Before Ethos, Sarah worked as an in-house sustainability consultant at the University of Leicester, where she managed projects, coordinated events, and engaged with stakeholders, contributing to strategic documents like the Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) and Biodiversity Design Guide. She earned her MSc in Applied Ecology during this period and now volunteers as a bird ringer in Wiltshire and leads the North Wiltshire Swifts advice and action group.

Rachel joined Ethos in 2024 as a Senior Environmental Data Analyst, bringing onboard her expertise in geospatial technologies and environmental data management. She has 5 years of experience working with ESRI GIS products across the Telecoms and Water industries. She spent 3 years working on the development of GIS systems that would support the design and rollout of a novel full-fibre network. She spent two years as a GIS specialist within the Hydraulic Modelling Team at Wessex Water, honing her skills in modeling environmental scenarios and assessing combined sewer overflows to support data-driven decision making.

Rachel's core competencies include spatial data analysis, handling and interpreting large datasets, scripting in Python, managing GIS databases and producing accurate, visually appealing maps. In addition, she is experienced in developing bespoke smart tools to automate and streamline workflows. Academically, Rachel holds a BSc (Hons) in Physical Geography and Geology and an MSc in Water and Environmental Management.Beyond her professional commitments, Rachel is passionate about wildlife and nature conservation. She actively volunteers as a Riverfly Monitor for the Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART), where she contributes to monitoring water quality at a local section of river within the Bristol Avon catchment.

Anna joined Ethos in 2024 as a Graduate GIS Consultant. Her role is to support the company in all of its GIS requirements. This includes mapping for projects, spatial analysis and the presentation of data for reports. Anna completed her degree in Geography (BSc Hons) at Durham University in 2023. She then spent 4 months working as a GIS Intern with Archipelagos Institute of Marine Conservation in Greece, where she was responsible for supporting different projects related to the conservation of the Aegean Sea. The role gave her experience in a range of data collection methods as well as exposure to a scope of GIS platforms and mapping techniques. She was involved in developing high-quality maps to support effective conservation and inform national and EU authorities on the results of research findings.

Anna enjoys making sense of complex geospatial information and creating informative visual representations of data for clients. She has a passion for using GIS to support better decision-making. In her role at Ethos, Anna has been mapping habitats on project sites using the UKHabs framework using a wide variety of source data and assisting in the mapping of open spaces for our open space and GI projects.

Sophie joined Ethos in 2022 as a subcontractor, supporting protected species surveys. In 2024, she became an Assistant Ecologist and now contributes to a range of projects, including great crested newt, bat, dormouse, bird, and reptile surveys, as well as report writing for planning and biodiversity net gain applications.

Previously, Sophie worked for 8 years as a media specialist in marketing, gaining expertise in report writing, data analysis, project management, and client liaison. She holds a Master's in Advanced Wildlife Conservation in Practice (2022) and a BSc in Physical Geography (2015), reflecting her long-term passion for ecology.

Sophie has contributed to community and research projects, serving as Secretary for her local nature reserve group and supporting a WWT project on eel eDNA in the Severn Estuary.

Kate has been with Ethos since 2022, contributing to protected species and habitat surveys, report writing, and leading bird surveys with expertise in related legislation and the EIA process. She has 8 years of experience as a wildlife conservation lecturer and has worked on projects in the UK, Vietnam, and Mauritius with various organizations.

Kate supports the National Dormouse Monitoring Programme in Bristol and North Somerset and assists the South Glos Owl and Bird of Prey Conservation Group in monitoring owl and raptor populations. Her work, especially with barn owls, informs effective mitigation strategies for development projects.

Oliver joined Ethos in spring, 2024, assisting with protected species surveys while undertaking training with Ecology Training UK. Since then, he has been taken on fulltime and now contributes to report writing, biodiversity net gain calculations, and QGIS mapping.

Oliver graduated from the university of St. Andrews in 2022, receiving an honour’s degree in Evolutionary Biology with an emphasis on Ecology. He then spent 2023 tutoring biology, chemistry, maths, and physics at a Secondary School in Tottenham. Oliver has broad interests in the natural world, including conducting regular moth surveys, scuba diving, and studying to become a licenced ecologist.

Becky has worked as a consultant Ecologist since 2005 having graduated from Imperial College, London. She joined Ethos in 2021 after working as a sub- contractor for Ethos since 2018. Becky specialises in botanical surveys but also holds GCN licence and has extensive experience conducting a whole range of Ecological surveys.

Becky started her Ecological career in a large multi-disciplinary consultancy primarily working on projects for water companies looking at the impact of water extraction on ecologically sensitive sites in England and Scotland. She then worked as a sole trader for 10 years working on a range of Ecological projects from the Abernethy Forest to Port Talbot.

At Ethos Becky is responsible for undertaking detailed botanical and habitat assessments data analysis, report writing, and undertaking a range of protected species surveys including surveys for bats, otter, water vole, badger, reptile, GCN and breeding birds.

Josie has an honours degree from The University of Surrey where she studied Biological Sciences, with an international placement year at a wildlife conservation NGO in Italy. Following this, she undertook a range of bat surveys prior to joining Ethos in 2023.  She now works as an assistant ecologist at Ethos where she assists on habitat and protected species surveys, completes BNG metrics and calculations, and supports the delivery of management plans and EcIA's.

Josie manages a few projects, including the volunteer wildlife group for Belmont Estate, which Ethos have paired with to raise surplus BNG units through their preexisting large scale re-wilding project. This involves coordinating surveys, collecting, processing, and evaluating the data to inform the success of the project.

Ellie joined Ethos in early 2021 having graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Science from the University of Plymouth. Ellie’s focus in on undertaking a wide range of protected species surveys, GIS mapping and producing a range of ecological reports. Ellie manages the bat call data analysis for Ethos, designing and implementing up to date analysis techniques for detailed results.

During her time at Ethos, Ellie has worked as an ecological clerk of works for a range of projects involving birds, badgers and reptiles. Ellie holds a current CSCS card, is a Level 3 First Aider and a Qualifying member of CIEEM. Ellie is currently working towards her protected species licences for bats and dormice.

Ellie has a high standard of work and likes to complete projects from initial site visits to discharging any ecological conditions associated with a planning condition and ecological clerk of works whilst ensuring the best outcome can be achieved for the client and for biodiversity.

Bex has worked with Ethos for over 5 years, and has seen the business grow form a small team to the larger multi functional team of today. Along with this expansion, Bex has implemented financial management systems to provide management information to help the business grow.

Ben joined Ethos in May 2022 having worked as ecological consultant in the north of England for a number of years after completing a MSc in Ecological Consultancy from Newcastle University. He has extensive experience in a broad range of protected species surveys and habitat surveys and holds Class 1 survey licences for bats and great crested newts. He also has extensive knowledge of biodiversity net gain practices having worked with metric since early versions in 2019, as well being accredited in the river condition assessment methodology and utilising it on numerous projects.

Ben has worked on a large range of projects from householder and small developments to large scale development and national infrastructure projects at various stages and roles from initial surveys, report writing, on site ecological clerk of works and project management.

Ben has a thorough and practical approach to projects providing fully informed advice and solutions in order to safeguard biodiversity and wildlife, whilst ensuring a smooth project delivery.