Nancy Burrell
ZOOLOGIST
Nancy became fascinated by rewilding as a tool for conservation having grown up at Knepp. She finds it deeply inspiring that nature holds the answer to so many of the questions confronting us – including climate change, soil degradation, and human health.
Nancy has a background in marine biology, graduating with an MSci from the University of Southampton in 2018. Her master’s project took her to the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS) and Bergen University to study the influence of megafauna on a post-glacial landscape. She is currently in her 3rd year studying for a PhD at the University of Oxford focusing on ecosystem services that are provided by rewilding. During the summer, Nancy helps host undergraduate and masters students on an Operation Wallacea Ecology Field Skills course where she leads a research-based option on the carbon storage potential of rewilding.
“Seeing what happens at Knepp when nature is allowed the time and space to express itself has impressed upon me the importance of understanding fully functioning, dynamic ecosystems, how biodiversity itself is an expression of ecosystem function and resilience, and, perhaps above all, the importance of observing nature from a position of humility.”
