At the start of Autumn 2023, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) appointed a new Scientific Officer who will oversee the National Plant Monitoring Scheme (NPMS) in Northern Ireland; Emma Mulholland.  Read our conversation and welcome Emma to the scheme!

I have been recording with the NPMS since it started in 2015. I had very little botanical knowledge then as I was still working as a GP. This is my first plot at Longtown in Herefordshire overlooking the Black Mountains. I was lucky enough to have a wildflower meadow in my patch, fortunately unchanged in the quality of the plants in 7 years.

Oli Wilson is our new ecological modeller here at the NPMS. This exiting new role for the scheme will involve analysing the huge amount of data that is collected by our fantastically dedicated volunteers. Oli has great plans for exploring what the data can tell us. Read below to find out more about him and what he will be bringing to the scheme!

Can you tell us about yourself – what were you doing before you came to the NPMS?

The National Plant Monitoring Scheme is lucky enough to have a team of regional volunteer mentors.

Check out this wonderfully written blog post from one of our fantastic NPMS volunteers. Michelle has been part of the scheme since even before it's official launch, having volunteered on Plantlife surveys prior to this. 

https://bhorganicgardeninggroup.org/2021/07/28/wildflower-spotting-and-the-national-plant-monitoring-scheme-npms/

(Photo of the Slender Scotch Burnet Moth and vews of the square and plot locations)

My name is Emily Wilkins and I work as a countryside ranger for the islands of Iona, Staffa and the southern part of Mull off the west coast of Scotland. It’s a partnership role between the National Trust for Scotland (NTS) and the local Mull & Iona Community Trust (MICT).