- Application Deadline: 13/03/2026 5:00PM
- Anticipated Interview Date: 17/03/2026
- Staff name: Dr Ambroise Baker
- Start date: Successful applicants will be expected to start in May or October 2026.
This PhD project aims to study early management interventions during the transition from agriculture to rewilding, with a special focus on the provision of bird habitat and resources, such as seeds and invertebrate abundance. The project takes advantage of the existing long-term ecological monitoring undertaken in 2022 at RSPB’s Wild Saltholme, a 100-ha rewilding project in the Tees Valley. While there are a number of practical ways to promote nature recovery and biodiversity following ecological degradation, one of them, rewilding, is believed to ally high restoration potential and low costs. However, rewilding has only been proposed in the last two decades and we often lack empirical evidence about the best locations for it to be implemented or about the pace and nature of change to expect. Monitoring research at Wild Saltholme is designed to inform adaptive management at the site and to guide rewilding initiatives at other sites to ensure well-managed transition from intensive agriculture to nature, where desirable.
We are looking for someone with a passion for the natural environment and an interest in developing applied research collaboratively with the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds). During the studentship, you will have an opportunity to spend an internship working directly with a variety of RSPB teams. In addition to research skills, existing practical skills in botany and/or entomology are highly desirable, as is a driving licence.
For more information and to apply:
For informal inquiries:
a.baker@tees.ac.uk