Tess Evans has joined the Oxford Green Estate team within Estates Services as Research Coordinator.
She will be a key driver in implementing the University’s strategy on using its land for research, and facilitating the implementation of Living Laboratories across the green spaces it owns and manages.
Tess will be the first point of contact for researchers looking to work on University land. She will enable new projects and evaluate proposals alongside the Green Estate team using her knowledge of conservation, ecology and land management, and will allocate space to each study, ensure the relevant permissions are in place and help prepare research agreements specifying what will be done.
Tess has previously worked as an Ecology Technician at the Centre for Population Biology at Imperial College and as an environmental science contractor and has experience in citizen science. In her new role, she is keen to contribute wherever possible to preserving and increasing knowledge of the natural environment. She will work closely with colleagues within Estates Services including the Conservator of Wytham Woods and the Senior Rural Estates Surveyor.
The team will soon be launching a newsletter to promote events, published studies and opportunities for research on the University’s land. Please email oge@admin.ox.ac.uk if you want to sign up, or if you have any ideas for research using University green spaces that you would like to discuss with Tess.
They are also organising a seminar for researchers at the John Krebs Field Station near Wytham village on May 20 – this will provide updates on research currently taking place on University land, and outline both short-term opportunities and the University’s long-term vision for the Green Estate. More details will be available soon, but if you are interested in attending please email the address above.
The University owns a wide variety of green spaces, ranging from ancient semi-natural woodland at Wytham Woods to floodplain meadows at Park Farm in Marston. The Green Estate team aim to make better use of these for research, teaching and outreach. They will also help ensure that the University’s land is consistently managed according to best practice and the latest research.
