Prof Mark Huxham
| Post Nominals | PhD PFHEA NTF FRSE |
|---|---|
| Biography | I am professor of Teaching and Research in Environmental Biology at Edinburgh Napier University. I am fortunate to combine research into coastal ecology with teaching and the scholarship of teaching. My PhD research was on food webs in estuaries, and I still work in these fascinating places, here in Scotland and overseas (particularly in Kenya). I have spent nearly two decades working with local communities dependent on mangrove resources to understand their ecosystems better and to use this science to help restore their environments and bring community development benefits. As a committed educator I enjoy teaching ecology, environmental science, environmental ethics and scientific methods to a wide range of students and volunteers. I also research pedagogical questions arising from my own practice and from the needs of students, including new ways to assess and give feedback and how to include students in the co-creation of learning. |
| Research Interests | The main focus of my current research is on carbon management in coastal ecosystems, particularly but not exclusively in mangrove forests. This involves detailed ecological experimentation (to understand carbon dynamics), the application of remote sensing and mapping techniques (to represent carbon stocks, opportunities for conservation and utilization and risks at a landscape scale) and work on social, policy and legal frameworks (to facilitate local and regional sustainable benefit). A major current goal is work with Kenyan colleagues on establishing the first community-based mangrove conservation project in Africa to use funding through payments for ecosystem services, and I have established a charity (the Association of Coastal Ecosystem Services) to facilitate support from the voluntary carbon market for this scheme. |
| Teaching and Learning | Achieving Sustainability Life on Earth Terrestrial Field Ecology Marine Biology |