Research interests

I am an urban ecologist working on biodiversity conservation and the provision of ecosystem services in cities where many of us live and work. My research encompasses a wide range of taxa and habitats, but I have a particular interest in insect pollinators, birds, private gardens and brownfields. We cannot understand urban ecosystems without considering people and my research also investigates the social drivers and barriers around biodiversity management in cities. People benefit in many ways from urban nature and enabling equitable access to these benefits is one of my research priorities.

I have worked on a diverse range of interdisciplinary research projects across the UK. Some recent projects include:

• Making Space for Young People. How does ecosystem quality affect nature connectedness and health in young people? A pilot project of the NERC QUENCH network
• Self-Repairing Cities (University of Leeds): researching the impact of automating cities with robots on urban biodiversity and ecosystem function
• SUCCESS (Sustainable Urban Carbon Capture: Engineering Soils for Climate Change, Newcastle University): investigating the trade-offs and synergies between carbon capture and other urban ecosystem services
• Urban Pollinators: their Ecology and Conservation (University of Bristol/Leeds): researching the current status of cities for UK pollinators and examining methods for enhancing urban habitats

I also collaborate with overseas researchers on international urban biodiversity projects, for example:

• NCEAS Working Group (University of California, Santa Barbara). 'Comparative Ecology of Cities: What Makes an Urban Biota 'Urban'?'.
• SESYNC project (University of Maryland/SDiv Leipzig, Germany). 'Ecological and Social Linkages among Biodiversity, Ecosystem Services, and Environmental Policy and Management in the World’s Cities.
• The Urban Biodiversity Research Coordination Network (UrBioNet). A network that brings together researchers, practitioners, and students with an interest in biodiversity in cities, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation.

I am currently Special Features Editor for the Springer Nature Journal, Urban Ecosystems.

I am proud to be a Trustee of the Wildlife Gardening Forum, a UK charity that seeks to raise awareness and understanding of the importance of gardens for wildlife and people. 

I am keen that professional ecological practice should be evidence-based, and I am a member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) Academia Special Interest Group.

For more information about my research please see my profile on Google Scholar.

Research Group

Principal Supervisor:

Rebecca Giles, Northumbria Collaborative RDF PhD Student (with NHS Newcastle Hospitals) 2025 -. “The health and wellbeing benefits of biodiverse greenspace: A case study of green and social prescribing in Newcastle Hospitals”. Principal supervisor Dr Mark Goddard; Co-supervisors Dr Katherine Baldock, Professor Mark Wetherell, Anna-Lisa Mills (NHS Newcastle Hospitals).

Elizabeth Walker: Northumbria PhD Student, 2024 -. "Investigating the Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) strategy execution gap for Small to Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the North East Combined Authority (NECA)".  Principal supervisor Dr Mark Goddard; Co-supervisor Emeritus Professor Alister Scott.

Caitlin Cook, Northumbria NERC One Planet DTP Student 2023 -. “Astro-turfing the city: Quantifying the impact of artificial lawns on the structure and function of urban ecosystems”. Principal supervisor Dr Mark Goddard; Co-supervisors Dr Miranda Prendergast-Miller (Northumbria University), Dr Chloe Sutcliffe (Royal Horticultural Society).

Co-supervisor:

Andrew Brooks, Queen’s University Belfast UK Department for the Economy PhD student 2025 -. “Presentation of Acoustic Ecology through Community Co-Produced Sound Mapping in Human and Non-Human Spaces”. Principal supervisor Professor Pedro Rebelo; Co-supervisors Dr Sarah Lappin, Dr Mark Goddard.

Tiger Pugh, Northumbria NERC One Planet DTP Student 2024 -. Project title: “Grow or mow? Managing urban grasslands for pollinator conservation and soil ecosystem services”. Principal supervisor Dr Katherine Baldock; Co-supervisors Dr Mark Goddard, Dr Miranda Prendergast-Miller, Dr Elisa Lopez-Capel, Prof. Yit Arn Teh. 

Abeer Alomiri: Northumbria PhD Student, 2024 -. "Greening Riyadh? Evaluating the effectiveness of afforestation initiatives on environmental and public health in Riyadh City, Saudi Arabia". Principal Supervisor Prof. Anil Namdeo; Co-supervisors Dr Mark Goddard, Dr Stephanie Wilkie.

Sarah Woods, Northumbria PhD Student, 2023 -."Nocturnal pollinators in the Anthropocene: How are nocturnal Lepidoptera affected by urbanisation and other anthropogenic factors?". Principal supervisor Dr Andy Suggitt; Co-supervisors Dr Mark Goddard, Dr Katherine Baldock.

Rosie McCallum, Newcastle NERC One Planet DTP Student 2023 -. “How does post-industrial land regeneration contribute to Biodiversity net gain in the UK?”. Principal supervisor Dr Elisa Lopez-Capel; Co-supervisors Dr Mark Goddard, Dr Miranda Prendergast-Miller, Dr Katherine Baldock, Dr Ankush Prashar.

Kevin Stott, Northumbria NERC One Planet DTP Student 2020 -. “The role of soil ecology and microbiology in sustainable carbon capture (carbonate precipitation) within artificial soils incorporating industry by-products”. Principal supervisor Dr Miranda Prendergast-Miller; Co-supervisors Dr Mark Goddard, Dr Angela Sherry, Prof. David Manning.

Alumni

Dr Federica Paradiso, Northumbria RDF PhD student Student 2021-2025. “Making space for urban pollinators: Strategies for enabling coexistence between honeybees and wild pollinators in cities”. Principal supervisor Mark Goddard; Co-supervisors Dr Katherine Baldock, Dr Matthew Pound, Dr Rinke Vinkenoog (Northumbria University), Prof. Mark Whittingham (Newcastle University).

Dr Beatrice Dale, Northumbria NERC One Planet DTP Student 2021-2025. “Quantifying the importance of tree floral resources for pollinators in urban landscapes”. Principal supervisor: Dr Katherine Baldock; Co-supervisors Dr Mark Goddard, Dr Matthew Pound, Dr Rinke Vinkenoog, Prof. Darren Evans

Dr Francesca Martelli, Northumbria RDF PhD student, 2021-2024. “Interactions between pollinators and people: assessing the socio-economic drivers of garden and allotment management and implications for urban pollinators communities”. Principal supervisor: Dr Katherine Baldock; Co-supervisors Mark Goddard, Prof. Alister Scott.

Biography/Qualifications

• 2022-present, Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK.
• 2019-2022, Vice Chancellor’s Research Fellow, Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria University, Newcastle, UK.
• 2018-2019, Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, UK
• 2014-2017, Post-doctoral Research Associate, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, UK
• 2011-2014, Research Assistant, School of Biology, University of Leeds, UK.
• 2012, PhD (Urban Ecology), University of Leeds, UK
• 2003, MRes (Ecology & Environmental Management), University of York, UK
• 2001, BSc (Zoology), University of Nottingham, UK