Whild Associates is an ecological consultancy specialising in botany and data management.
The partners are Alex Lockton, who is also Coordinator of the Botanical Society of the British isles, and Sarah Whild, who is a Lecturer in Ecology at the University of Birmingham and BSBI Recorder for Shropshire.
Our main area of interest is the Meres & Mosses of the Shropshire-Cheshire plain, and we have undertaken many studies of the plants and vegetation of this interesting part of the country.
Selected Reports
Grasswrack Pondweed in 2008: report to the UK BAP group. Whild Associates, Shrewsbury (pdf 246kb).
A Botanical Survey of Prees Heath Common Reserve. 2007. Butterfly Conservation, East Lulworth.
Condition Assessments of Oakhanger Moss and Abbot’s Moss. 2007. Natural England.
Botanical Surveys of the Meres & Mosses, 2001, 2002, 2003 & 2005 (c.50 site reports). English Nature, Shrewsbury.
Fumaria purpurea in the British Isles. 2003. English Nature, Peterborough.
Native vascular plant species recorded in Scotland, 1850-1999. 2002. BSBI & Scottish Natural Heritage, Edinburgh.
The status of Grasswrack Pondweed, Potamogeton compressus, in Britain in 2002. English Nature, Shrewsbury.
A review of River Corridor Survey procedures. 1999. Environment Agency, Bristol.
Botanical review of Shropshire Wildlife Trust reserves. (numerous volumes) 1998-2001. Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Shrewsbury.
An Ecological survey of the Montgomery Canal. 1999. British Waterways, Gloucester.
Staffordshire Grasslands Survey. 1997. English Nature, Shrewsbury.
Brown Moss Rehabilitation Plan. 1996. Shropshire County Council, Shrewsbury.
A Strategic River Corridor Survey of the River Windrush. 1996. The Environment Agency, Thames Region.
A Survey of the Rivers Vyrnwy and Tanat. 1994. National Rivers Authority, Severn-Trent Region.
Whild Associates Ecological Consultants
66 North Street, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 2JL, UK
Web Sites and Databases
Our web databases are designed by Alan Hale; the web sites are managed by Alex Lockton:
Botanical Society of the British Isles
Shropshire Flora (passworded)
Publications
Whild, S.J., Lockton, A.J. & Godfrey, M. 2006. The Flora of Haughmond Hill. Shropshire Botanical Society & the University of Birmingham, Shrewsbury.
Rich, T.C.G., Lockton, A.J. & Parnell, J. 2005. Distribution of the Irish Whitebeam, Sorbus hibernica E.F. Warb. (Rosaceae). Watsonia 25, 369-380.
Whild, S.J. & Lockton, A.J. (eds). 2005. New Flora of Attingham Park. Shropshire Botanical Society & University of Birmingham, Shrewsbury.
Lockton, A.J. & Whild, S.J. 2005. Rare Plants of Shropshire, 3rd edition. Shropshire Botanical Society, Shrewsbury.
Whild, S.J. & Lockton, A.J. 2003. Carex muricata subsp. muricata (Cyperaceae) in Shropshire. Watsonia 24, 528-531.
Rich, T.C.G., Bennallick, I.J., Cordrey, L., Kay, Q.O.N., Lockton, A.J. & Rich, L.K. 2002. Distribution and population sizes of Asparagus prostratus Dumort., Wild Asparagus, in Britain. Watsonia 24, 183-192.
Rich, T.C.G. & Lockton, A.J. 2002. Bromus interruptus (Hack.) Druce (Poaceae) – an extinct English endemic. Watsonia 24:69-80.
Whild, S.J., Meade, R. & Daniels, J. (eds.) 2001. Management of water and trees on raised bogs. Papers and transcripts from a conference held at Hanmer, 10-12th June 1997. English Nature Research Reports No. 407, English Nature, Peterborough.
English Nature. 1998. A strategy for the conservation of the Meres & Mosses of Cheshire, Shropshire and Staffordshire. English Nature, Shrewsbury.
Contact us
We are happy to take on work that involves British botany, especially in Shropshire or the Meres & Mosses area. We do not undertake protected species work or environmental impact assessment.
Please contact us if you might be interested in our services, for an informal estimate if preferred. If we cannot do the work, we shall try to recommend someone who can.
Recorder Support
I (Alex) used to provide support for Recorder 3 on behalf of the JNCC, and I still get enquiries.
I still use R3.3 for my databases (it’s the only one with an appropriate data model for botanical recording) and I don’t mind helping other people if they have problems. Most people just want their data extracted, and I’m happy to do this without charge for naturalists groups and so forth, as long as it is not too onerous. Email me to discuss it.
Training
These days our training courses are mostly delivered through the University of Birmingham and the Field Studies Council.
Sarah is Chair of the BSBI’s Training & Education Committee, which promotes training courses and awards grants to students.
Contact Sarah for details of these or to discuss your training requirements.
Whild Associates, 2008