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The Team
Meet the team!
The HogWatch team consists of five primary members, however the work for this monitoring project could not be achieved without the dedicated help of many of our volunteers and partners. Numerous people help with camera deployment and maintenance and our work would not be possible without them! Below is just a description of our core team members.
Professor Christopher Carbone - Project Founder
Professor Carbone's work combines theoretical and practical research in ecology, focusing on body size, diet, and human-wildlife interactions. He founded the London HogWatch project in 2016 and has published on a wide range of topics focusing on mammalian ecology and biodiversity.
Kate Scott-Gatty - Project Manager
Kate Scott-Gatty manages the London HogWatch project at ZSL. She specialises in urban biodiversity monitoring using camera traps and her previous work focused on trends in global biodiversity.
Dr Benjamin Evans - Post Doctoral Researcher
Dr. Evans specialises in developing machine learning methods for conservation. He focuses on automating density estimation and creating data pipelines for the National Hedgehog Monitoring Programme. His earlier research involved developing an end-to-end semi-automated camera trap pipeline with advances in multi-frame detection and generalisable species classification methods.
Chloe Hartland - Research Technician
Chloe Hartland is a researcher at London HogWatch. Her research interests are in urban biodiversity monitoring, ecology, and the use of population genomics for wildlife conservation and management.
Bella Horwood - Research Technician
Bella Horwood is a researcher at London HogWatch. Her interests include bridging urban conservation efforts with inclusive community engagement initiatives.
Professor Marcus Rowcliffe
Professor Rowcliffe's research currently focuses on biodiversity monitoring, in particular the use of technology to monitor elusive species. This includes terrestrial camera trapping, underwater cameras, drone surveys and acoustic monitoring. His most important contribution in this area is the development of statistical methods and tools to estimate animal abundance from camera trap data, and the software and standards needed to create efficient data pipelines to apply these methods. Marcus is involved in applying these methods to issues from urban wildlife conservation and badger vaccination in the UK, to wildlife monitoring in rewilding landscapes in Europe, and the conservation of critically endangered species such as the wild camel in Mongolia.
Dr Robin Freeman
Dr Freeman's work focuses on understanding the patterns and processes of global biodiversity change. From understanding global population trends through indicators like the Living Planet Index to how these trends respond to pressures and drivers across multiple scales. Together Robin's unit maintains and produces the Living Planet Index which is reported biannually with WWF in the Living Planet Report. Robin's work uses a combination of zoology and machine learning & pattern recognition and he maintain a strong interest in novel analytical methods to better understand the natural world.
Funders and Collaborators
City of London Corporation - CoL Corp. are key funders of the 2025 Highgate Woods camera trap survey through the cities Central Grants Programme ‘Enjoying Green Spaces and the Natural Environment Grant’. As the governing body of the City of London, they also manage a unique portfolio of open spaces across London, providing vital habitats for wildlife. Find more info here: https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk
British Hedgehog Preservation Society - BHPS a core funder of HogWatch and our work would not be possible without them. The British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) is a registered UK Charity, founded in 1982, dedicated to helping & protecting hedgehogs native to the UK (Erinaceus europaeus). Find more info here: https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/
People's Trust for Endangered Species - PTES have been a long-term collaborator of the project. With the help of scientists, conservationists, landowners, and the general public, they’re working to protect our delicately balanced ecosystem by bringing our most threatened species back from the brink. Find more info here: https://ptes.org/
Heath Hands - have been a valued partner in the projects HogWatch have undertaken in green spaces managed by CoL Corp., and helped to coordinate and provide volunteers for the 2025 Highgate Wood survey. Heath Hands engage volunteers to help connect them to nature and support conservation work, helping to manage habitats and protect biodiversity. Find more info here: https://www.heath-hands.org.uk
