Tim McGrath

Head of Project Develolpment (nature based solutions)

About me

I have worked with WWT since 2009 after working the previous 20 years within the Wildlife Trusts. My background is in habitat management and volunteer engagement and I have worked in Surrey, Wiltshire, Shropshire and ‘Avon’ before coming to WWT. In 2004, I spent a year with Rural Development Agency working on Exmoor Environmentally Sensitive Area and Wessex Region Countryside Stewardship Schemes.

I have a Bachelor’s degree in Biology & Chemistry and a Masters in Environmental Conservation; however, in my free time I am often found either staring skywards for orbiting raptors or looking at plants in a vague attempt to botanise.

My role

My work at WWT has always been around developing and delivering wetland projects that provide a benefit to people and wildlife. When I started I was WWTs Senior Project Manager in the creation of Steart Marshes, a 500ha wetland creation scheme on the Somerset coastline. Owned by the Environment Agency but now managed as one of our 10 sites this nature reserve is an exemplar in community engagement, habitat creation and demonstration for its multiple wetland benefits.

Following this, as Senior Project Manager (Wetland Landscapes) I supported the development and delivery of projects within our Rural Landscapes and Waterscapes Programmes. In particular the Two Valleys Project, a Natural Flood Management scheme in West Somerset that demonstrated where WWT could work with the local communities to create interventions that stored water within the landscape of two river catchments. This, our work at Steart Marshes and our community engagement work in Bridgwater, underpinned our successful £1.6M Green Recovery Challenge Fund, increasing the delivery and appreciation of wetlands throughout the area.

In 2021, I became Head of Project Development a role that facilitated the development of major conservation projects with support from all Directorates, helping to deliver our strategic objectives. However, the most significant project to date was to set up a major saltmarsh restoration project supported through our relationship with Aviva plc. This project now sits within WWT’s Major Projects Directorate who are responsible for creating a site that will bury carbon and realise the wider benefits that wetland restoration brings.

In July 2023, I was appointed as interim Director of Conservation, a position that is underpinned by the ground breaking and innovative work that WWT’s Conservation Directorate both lead the way in and deliver on the ground. As Director, I am tasked with leading our UK and International Conservation Teams into the new strategy and delivering the conservation outcomes that lie within. A job made so much more the easier by the skill, insight and commitment that each of the individuals within our world leading conservation team continue to share. This will help us align ourselves fully towards achieving our goals of unlocking the potential that wetlands have, capitalizing on the opportunity for restoration at scale and engaging with people, communities and organisations for who these wetlands hold value.

Experience and interests

• Ornithologist – Excellent birder, experienced in Breeding Bird Survey & Common Bird Census
• Botanist – Phase 1 & National Vegetation Classification
• Entomologist – particularly odonata & orthoptera
• Habitat management and land management
• Practical DIYer and mountain walker

Publications

McGrath, Tim., 1995: Curlew count 1994. A survey of the curlew Numenius arquata in the Braydon Forest area of north Wiltshire. Hobby. 1994( ); 21: 97-104 (Wiltshire Ornithological Society)

McGrath, Tim., 2022: To enable communities to engage with the biggest European tidal flat and saltmarsh restoration project. Coastal Wetlands Restoration Public Perception and Community Development ISBN: 978-0-367-86308. Routledge

Pontee, Nigel. McGrath, Tim. et al., 2015: Delivering Large Habitat Restoration Schemes: Lessons from the Steart Coastal Management Project Coastal Management Conference 2015, Changing Coast, Changing Climate, Changing Minds

Yamashita, Hiromi. McGrath, Tim. et al 2021: Communication and Engagement. Saltmarsh Restoration Handbook UK & Ireland (Environment Agency/Defra)