Catherine Gresty was a DPhil student supervised by Professor Kathy Willis and Professor Owen Lewis and held a Christopher Welch Scholarship. Before joining the institute she received a BA (Hons) in Biological Sciences (1st Class) from Oxford University, graduating in July 2013. During her time as an undergraduate she completed research projects at the Institute of Zoology (Zoological Society of London), the Natural History Museum (London), the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Imperial College and the Department of Zoology at Oxford University.

Catherine’s DPhil research focused on assessing the effectiveness of the pollinator conservation strategies of the UK Agri-Environment schemes in restoring solitary bee communities on farmland. She set up a network of 20 farms across Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, Hampshire, Gloucestershire and Buckinghamshire, ranging from very intensive farms under no Agri-Environment scheme to farms showcasing Higher Level Countryside Stewardship with high levels of investment in pollinator conservation. Her thesis examined how solitary bee communities and the structure of their pollination networks are influenced by investment in these pollinator conservation interventions.

Selected Publications