Andrew Baker FCIEEM

Managing Director

Andrew established Baker Consultants in 2009 and is now a fellow of his professonal body. Originally a field botanist, he is now an acknowledged expert in the application of nature conservation law, writing HRAs, representing clients at public inquiries and in recent times speaking on the ecological effects of poor air quality.

Dr. Carlos Abrahams MCIEEM

Director of Bioacoustics

Carlos has over 25 years’ experience in ecological consultancy, habitat creation/management and research. He has worked on a wide range of schemes, including housing, transport, and energy projects throughout the UK. He is a licensed surveyor for bats and great crested newts, and has developed specialist techniques in using bioacoustics for bird surveys.

Gavin Ward MCIEEM CEnv

Consultancy Director

Gavin is a Chartered Environmentalist (CEnv) with over 20 years’ experience and a strong background in EcIA, EIA & project management. He has worked across the UK, including elite-level sports facilities, garden suburbs, wind farms and greenfield developments. He has excellent commercial awareness, supporting clients from the feasibility stage, all the way through to delivery.

Kelly Clark MCIEEM

Associate Director

Joining Baker Consultants in 2009, Kelly holds a Natural England Class 2 Bat Survey Licence and a Class 1 Great Crested Newt Survey Licence. Providing robust strategic advice for clients, she would consider herself a ‘generalist’ but has specific interests in how the legislation affects habitats, mammals and reptiles.

Jim Longley MCIEEM

Principal Ecologist

Jim is an experienced ecologist and project manager who has worked for over 17 years in the conservation and ecology sector. In this time he has worked with a variety of stakeholders throughout the UK to see through small to large scale development and conservation projects. He is an accomplished habitat surveyor with specialist skills in ornithology, holds a Natural England survey licence for bats, barn owl and great crested newts, and is an NPTC accredited tree climber.

Courtenay Holden MCIEEM

Senior Ecologist

Courtenay has an interest in all aspects of ecological consultancy particularly enjoying mammal conservation. She assists with Habitat Regulation Assessments of projects and plans, and is licensed by Natural England to survey hazel dormice, bats and great crested newt, with a Natural Resources Wales survey class licence for GCN.

Jonathan Jones ACIEEM

Senior Ecologist

Jonathan is a botanical and protected species surveyor with over 10 years experience, specialising in bats, badger and also holds a Class 1 GCN survey licence. He advocates an ecosystems-led approach, focusing on Biodiversity Net Gain, assessing on- & off-site strategies to deliver sustainable development. He is also certified for aerial access for bat tree assessments.

Isabel Syddall

Senior Ecologist

Since joining the company as a recent graduate in 2020 Isabel has been involved in phase 1 habitat surveys, badger bait-marking, bat activity surveys and building inspections, reptile surveys and watervole/otter surveys. She has also worked on Biodiversity Net Gain projects, data analysis, habitat mapping, and Natural England mitigation licence applications.

Jed Weaver

Senior Ecologist

Jed graduated from Nottingham Trent University in 2018 and joined Baker Consultants as an Assistant Ecologist in 2021. His involvement in an Environment Agency project surveying chalk streams kickstarted his invertebrate ID skills. He is working on Biodiversity Net Gain appraisals and field surveys of bats, badgers and GCN.

Dave Goddard MCIEEM

Senior Invertebrate Ecologist

Dave started being interested in invertebrates as a child, at that time teaching himself how to identify butterflies from a book. Since then, he has added many groups of species to his repertoire including ground beetles, dragonflies, millipedes, centipedes, woodlice, hoverflies, shieldbugs, bees, wasps and ants. He has carried out professional terrestrial and aquatic invertebrate surveys for the last fifteen years.

Meg Skinner ACIEEM

Invertebrate Ecologist

Meg joined Baker Consultants in 2023, equipped with five years’ ecology experience and a survey class license for Great Crested Newts. Meg runs the national recording scheme for harvestmen and has a keen interest in surveying terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates.

Martin Ledger ACIEEM

Ecologist

Martin has been with us since 2013, prior to which he was also a seasonal surveyor for two seasons. He is a Class 1 bat & GCN licence holder, but his main passion is ornithology. He has a Natural England Barn Owl licence and is highly experienced at identifying bird species across a wide range of habitats. In addition to his breeding, winter, vantage and species-specific surveys skills, he is also a JNCC-accredited European Seabirds at Sea (ESAS) surveyor.

Ian Stephens ACIEEM

Ecologist

Ian has over 10 years’ experience in ecological consultancy. He has worked on projects spanning energy, transport infrastructure, solar farms and large & small-scale residential developments. He holds Natural England Class 1 Survey Licences for Bats and Great Crested Newts and is experienced in surveying other protected species including badgers, otter, water vole and reptiles.

Rae Smith

Ecologist

Since graduating from the University of Sheffield in 2020, Rae has volunteered with several local wildlife groups, gaining experience in bat activity and hibernation surveys, as well as breeding bird, water vole, and woodland condition surveys. Since joining us, she has been involved with UKHAB surveys, as well as doing the habitat mapping for Biodiversity Net Gain assessments.

Matthew Keough

Assistant Ecologist

Matthew graduated from the University of Leicester in 2022 and soon after joined Baker Consultants as an Assistant Ecologist. He is studying for a Masters in Ecological and Land Restoration, part time in collaboration with Eden Project Learning. He has interests in Botany and Mycology.

Robin Denton

Assistant Ecologist

Robin graduated from Nottingham Trent University with a Biodiversity and Conservation Masters in 2022. He has a broad interest in protected species and gained valuable experience of great crested newt, bat, water vole and reptile surveys working with us previously as a seasonal surveyor in 2022.

Karthik Ashok

Database Developer

Karthik specialises in the field of bioacoustics, analysing anthropogenic impacts on local ecosystems through innovative monitoring and mitigation methods. With an M.Res in Biology from University of St. Andrews, a B.Tech degree in Electronics Engineering, and six years’ experience in the field, he will be helping us to develop our Soil Bioacoustics research projects over the next few years. He will also be helping to streamline how we use and analyse our ecology survey data and maps

Saffron, Marie, Jackie

Business support

The business support team includes Marie, Jackie and Saffron who keep everything ticking along so that we can do our jobs properly. If you have an enquiry about a tender, insurance documentation, an invoice or marketing please contact them by calling 01629 593958 or email info@ or finance@bakerconsultants.co.uk.