At the start of the new year, we held our annual full company event at Staverton Park, bringing together over 200 colleagues from across RSK Biocensus, including RSK Wilding and our brand-new Cornwall team (previously Plan for Ecology). We were joined by colleagues from Southern Ecological Solutions (SES), another RSK Group company with whom we often collaborate. We were also delighted that Robinson Odada, a colleague based in Kenya, was able to attend, it was great to meet him in person.
The two-day event was a brilliant opportunity for knowledge sharing, collaboration and connection between all kinds of colleagues, from experienced ecologists and budding new talents, to our supporting teams who keep everything running smoothly, including the event itself!
The event was organised by Nicky Lloyd (Business Support Manager), with support from Helen Mitchell (Director for Central Services), who both ensured that the event ran smoothly across both days. Helen started off the day and introduced the speakers, beginning with our Managing Director, Tom Smith, although to be fair he didn’t really need any introduction!
Tom’s presentation was a celebration of the company’s performance over the last year, including our significant growth. We now have a team of over 230 employees, including our newest colleagues from Cornwall whom Tom also took the opportunity to introduce. It was great to meet Kim Jelbert, now an Associate Director with RSK Biocensus, who heads up the Cornwall team, and was accompanied by four of the seven ecologists who have joined us: a really good opportunity for us all to get to know each other better.
Tom also wanted to highlight the work we have done in the previous year, including our presentations and conference appearances, publications and commitment to sustainability, which has been furthered by our support of special-interest bodies including CIEEM, Mammal Society, Ecology Expo and many more. His presentation was also a celebration and recognition of his people, across all areas of the business, all of whom, whatever their role, have contributed to an excellent year.
The second presentation was by Rob Harrison-Lacey, Ecology Director at Southern Ecology Solutions (SES). This presentation showcased the best of SES: their experience, lessons learned and innovative approaches to ecological assessment and delivery. Rob spoke about how he valued the partnership between SES and RSK Biocensus – this is reciprocated by the RSK Biocensus teams.
Next, a presentation by the second of three Toms speaking at the event: Thomas Webb, Senior Ecological Consultant at RSK Biocensus.
Tom’s presentation, ‘From Bird Rings to Brambles: The Value of Volunteering for Nature’ gave an insight into his passion for ringing birds and why this is essential for conservation, including guidance on how to get involved. Tom also spoke about how and why he began volunteering, how this has impacted not only his career, but his life as a whole. He spoke movingly about how being in nature has helped his mental health, as it has provided him with a community and given him a sense of purpose and belonging.
Tom’s presentation was incredibly inspiring and was one of the highlights of the event for many of us there: it was fantastic to see someone this early in their career, yet so experienced, be able to speak with such passion and knowledge on such important topics.
Our next presentation was lead by Chris Cathrine, Technical Director at RSK Biocensus, who was joined by other members of the Scotland and Invertebrate Teams: Steve Coates, Gwen Dean, Eilidh Call, Julie Smith and Michael Hogg.
The team talked about Scottish temperate rainforest studies as well as the excellent invertebrate survey and monitoring skills that they and other experts across RSK Biocensus have to offer. They also spoke about the Scotland Team as a whole, what they have been doing and what they will be doing in the near future. It’s hard to remember that many of that team have been with us for less than 18 months, they are already a huge part of our RSK Biocensus world.
A change of pace and topic next from Richard Howe, Associate Director and Digital Data & Systems Lead at RSK Biocensus, who spoke with his usual passion and enthusiasm about Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Data & Systems and what the future holds. The work that Rich and his team do underpins all our project work so it was useful and inspiring to hear what they have achieved and what will happen next.
Our sixth presentation of the day was from Simon Boulter, Director at RSK Biocensus. Simon’s presentation talked about his 20-year journey within Ecology. Simon has had an interesting and inspiring career, varied in experiences and location, including working out in Africa which is his passion.
Following Simon was our third Tom of the day: Tomos Gwynn, Senior Supplier Coordinator at RSK Biocensus. Tom gave a presentation on the work done by our dedicated Suppliers Team (Subbie team) outlining who they are, what they do and how they can help anyone and everyone within the business. Tom’s talk also highlighted why our subcontract ecologists are such a tremendous asset for RSK Biocensus, enabling us to have a further (and more sustainable) geographical reach when supporting projects. They are such a vital and valued part of the team, so we are continually looking for ways to ensure that our subbies have the best possible experience when working with us.
Our final presentation of the day was from Jon Davies, Director and Founder of RSK Wilding. Jon talked about who RSK Wilding are, how they started out and where they are now – setting the scene for Dr. Tim Graham, his colleague from RSK Wilding, to elaborate on this during Day Two.
On a more personal level, Jon talked about his long career as an ecologist and the lessons that he has learnt from his 30 years in consultancy, which are of value to us all, before talking about what the future holds, both for himself and for RSK Wilding as a whole.
Jon’s presentation was an entertaining, emotional and fascinating look back on his brilliant career and all his achievements: the perfect way to close off the presentations for Day One.
After a packed day of knowledge sharing and insights, it was time to wind down and enjoy the company of friends and colleagues for the evening. This began with a delicious meal, providing an opportunity to catch up and to have some “discussions” about the answers to the table-top quiz, devised and adjudicated by Paola Reason, Director at RSK Biocensus.
Over dinner and on into the remainder of the evening, colleagues spent time socialising with each other, cultivating new relationships and building on the existing bonds that are demonstrably strong with the team. We took advantage of the fact that almost all of us in the business were in the same place at the same time (this is definitely only possible once per year!) by holding our annual awards ceremony, celebrating outstanding contributions from members of our teams in 2025. This was hosted wonderfully by Jon Davies.
All of the awards were colleague voted, and we had many nominees across all 14 categories. The winners, and all those nominated, agreed that receiving recognition like this from colleagues and peers is really gratifying but that they couldn’t do their job as well as they do without the people around them.
As the first day came to a close, (for many sometime in the early hours of the following morning) we took full advantage of the opportunity to spend time socialising with one another in-person: TEAMS is fine but the atmosphere doesn’t buzz like it does when you’re in the same room.