Who we are

Nature-based Insights is a social venture spin-out of the Nature-based Solutions Initiative, University of Oxford. Our multidisciplinary team is working at the cutting edge of environmental science research, with decades of experience in natural and social science, policy analysis, and business development. Our work is anchored in the world-leading expertise of the University of Oxford on nature-based solutions, nature recovery, ecosystem functioning, natural capital, biodiversity, net-zero, sustainable finance, and more.

  • Cécile with blurred background

    Dr Cécile Girardin

    Director

    Cécile combines years of experience in climate change policy analysis with a background in tropical ecology and a thorough understanding of forest ecosystem functioning to provide a unique multidisciplinary approach to her work. She is also Technical Director of Nature-Based Solutions Initiative, Science Lead of the Oxford Biodiversity Network, and Oxford Martin School Fellow.

     
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    Professor Nathalie Seddon

    Non-executive Director, Advisor

    Nathalie is Professor of Biodiversity, founding Director of  both the Nature-based Solutions Initiative and the Agile Initiative at the University of Oxford. She is trained as an ecologist at Cambridge University and has over 25 years of research experience studying the origins and maintenance of biodiversity and its relationship with global change, including as a Research Fellow of the Royal Society. Nathalie guides governments, UN agencies, and businesses on nature-based solutions.

     
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    Dr. Nathália Carvalho

    Researcher

    Nathália is a Remote Sensing scientist with experience in spatiotemporal analysis, focusing on tropical forests, addressing anthropic threats such as fire and deforestation. She is also interested in issues involving land tenure and socio-environmental and economic contexts in these landscapes. She has experience in both the academic sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), applying data science in the planning and management of environmental policies.

     
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    Dr Gus Fordyce

    Lead researcher

    Gus is a marine ecosystem scientist who has trained and worked in Mozambique, Australia and the UK. In his career he has worked in the academic and NGO sectors on multiple aspects of coastal marine science, and recently completed his PhD looking at the impacts of extreme marine heatwaves upon coral reef structural complexity.

     
  • Dr Francisco Amorim

    Senior researcher

    Francisco is an ecologist who is especially interested on the short- and long-term spatial and temporal dynamics of biological communities facing global scale changes. Bats have been the main subject of his research and he became a skilled bat ecologist and conservationist, with active collaborations with conservation agencies, research institutions and NGOs at both international and national level.

     
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    Jill MacKeith

    Lead project manager

    Jill has eighteen years of project management experience across multiple industry sectors, combined with Masters in environmental science and sustainable development. She is keen to help organisations reach workable but stretching solutions to challenges and ground decision making in theories of change to both support and evidence impacts.

     
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    Annia Streher

    Researcher

     
  • Ceri Putman outside

    Ceri Putman

    Communications and outreach lead

    Ceri joined the team as communications and outreach lead, for Nature-based Insights (NBI) and the University of Oxford Nature-based Solutions Initiative (NbSI). She combines experience in communications and operations across conservation, tourism and health sectors in the UK and southern Africa, with a Masters in Sustainable Development from the University of St Andrews.

     
  • Impacts on climate, society and biodiversity tend to be underestimated and actions to mitigate or offset impacts are often inadequate and exacerbate risk.
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    Dr Pedro Moura Costa

    Advisor

    Pedro has been involved in climate policy, carbon finance and GHG mitigation projects since 1991, when he developed the first carbon-funded projects worldwide. In 1996, he founded EcoSecurities Group Plc, responsible for a portfolio of more than 700 GHG mitigation projects worldwide.

     
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    Dr Jeppe A. Kristensen

    Advisor

    Jeppe is a research fellow of the Environmental Change Institute in the School of Geography, working on soil and climate responses to different management strategies. He currently works on ecosystem restoration projects, but previously agroecosystems and semi-natural systems have been the target of his research.

     
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    Professor Yadvinder Malhi

    Advisor

    Yadvinder is Professor of Ecosystem Science at the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford. He is Programme Leader of the Ecosystems Group at the Environmental Change Institute and Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery.

     
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    Professor Michael Obersteiner

    Advisor

    Michael is Director of the Environmental Change Institute in the School of Geography, having recently moved from his post as Director at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Laxenberg, Austria. He leads large-scale interdisciplinary research projects in the fields of integrated assessment of climate, energy, and land-use.

     
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    Dr Isabela Butnar

    Advisor

    Isabela is a senior researcher in bioenergy systems at the UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources. Chemical engineer by training, she specialised in quantifying environmental impacts from agricultural and energy supply chains. Her recent research focuses on carbon dioxide removal options, investigating the role they could play in UK and global decarbonisation pathways.

     
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    Dr Mairi Black

    Advisor

    Mairi has over 25 years of industrial and academic experience in the applications of plant, agricultural and forestry materials for food and non-food uses. Incorporating Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Sustainability to supply chains and processes in a number of different industries, this has included food and biorefinery systems; forestry and agricultural systems; and the cement, leather and textiles industries.

     
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    Dr Mark Hirons

    Advisor

    Mark is a researcher in environmental social science at the University of Oxford who is interested in addressing inter-linked social and environmental challenges through interdisciplinary research. He is broadly engaged with research that investigates issues of well-being, inequality and justice with respect to climate change and natural resource governance.

     
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    Dr Marta Dondini

    Advisor

    Marta is a research fellow in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Aberdeen. She has over 10 years of experience in soil measuring and modelling and has broad interests in understanding soil nutrient dynamics, maintenance of soil health and its relationship with global change. Marta trained as a soil scientist at the Tuscia University and the Trinity College of Dublin.

     
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    Dan Seddon

    Director of communications

    Dan is a data visualiser, developer and designer working at the University of Oxford for the Nature-based Solutions Initiative. He has designed and developed all their online data platforms and websites. He is director of communications here at Nature-based Insights but also works as a freelance data visualiser under his own company FJ Visualisation.

     
  • Luke infront of a wall

    Luke Ramsay

    Director of operations

    Luke combines a background in carbon assessment and environmental sustainability with experience of business operations. His previous experience includes embedding environmental sustainability principles into the cultural sector and researching opportunities to reduce the carbon impact of digital infrastructure. More recently, he’s been responsible for managing and scaling a software start-up.

     

Opportunities

We are always interested in expanding our team and meeting like minded individuals. If you think you'd like to work for Nature-based Insights please do get in touch using the email address below.

Contact us

[email protected]
Belsyre Court, 57 Woodstock Rd, Oxford OX2 6HJ