Our Team

Dan Carpenter – Founder and Director

Between completing his Soil Science PhD in 2008 and founding Digital Ecology in 2022, Dan’s career journey has been exciting and varied, starting with a post-doctoral research post at the Natural History Museum, London. From there, he moved into local government, accepting the post of Biodiversity Officer at Bracknell Forest Borough Council and then onto the roles of Projects Manager and Interim Director at Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre, a semi-autonomous organisation under Oxfordshire County Council. Most recently, fulfilling the role of Associate Director – specialising in Biodiversity Net Gain – at Ethos Environmental Planning afforded him valuable experience of the private sector and an insight into a running a commercial company.

Digital Ecology was born out of Dan’s keen interest in developing digital technologies to help deliver better biodiversity outcomes.

In his spare time, Dan enjoys exploring the local countryside, swimming, reading books and watching cricket.

Charlie Hewitt – Digital Ecologist

Charlie is a geographer with a particular interest in Geographical Information Science (GIS) and its applications in ecology and biodiversity. Over the course of his studies for a BSc in Geography, an MSc in Geographical Information Science and an MPhil in Geography and Geographical Information Systems, Charlie became proficient in a range of digital technologies including Python, R, and GIS.

His sound knowledge and skill in this area is put to good use at Digital Ecology where he is responsible for handling and presenting environmental data; creating web apps and websites; and developing innovative products and services for existing and new clients. He also provides high quality training on open source software.

Holly Newton – Field Ecologist

Since graduating with a BSc in Biology, Holly completed an MRes in Biodiversity and Conservation, focusing on entomology for her research projects. Since then, her combined love of conservation and travel has led to a range of paid and voluntary research and ecologist posts in southern Spain, Indonesia, Croatia, New Zealand, Mexico as well as here in the UK.

Holly’s role as field ecologist at Digital Ecology is greatly enhanced by this wide-ranging experience. Not only is she adept at collecting and providing data to our clients; her knowledge and expertise also enable her to give vital feedback on our newly developed tools and technologies. Additionally, she can be relied upon to write high-quality reports for all stages of the Biodiversity Net Gain process, from feasibility studies to Habitat Management and Monitoring Plans.

Madison Lucas – Assistant Digital Ecologist

Maddie has a long-standing passion for using high quality data to inform enduring effective conservation decisions. She has an MBiol in Conservation Biology and Ecology, and part of her thesis involved predicting range shifts depending on climate scenario, and designing cost-efficient, dynamic climate-adaptive management methods. After completing an internship on Guernsey – which entailed conducting an island-wide technical survey of bumblebee DNA – Maddie initially joined Digital Ecology as an intern. Her enthusiasm and skill in this role, though, led to the offer and acceptance of a permanent contract. As assistant digital ecologist, Maddie is instrumental in the development of new products and services, and her commitment to keeping up with the latest research in the field means that her ideas always have a strong theoretical foundation.

Hannah Howard – Admin and Marketing Assistant

Hannah joined Digital Ecology in 2024 after having worked for 13 years as a secondary English teacher. Before that she occupied a variety of administrative roles so is well equipped to aid with the smooth running of the company.

Hannah is a keen nature enthusiast who enjoys family walks, bike rides and canoe trips in the neighbouring countryside. Alongside her work at Digital Ecology, she volunteers at the local Wildfowl and Wetland Trust centre, something which strengthens her understanding of the services provided by the company.