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About us > Office contacts UK
UK office contacts The headquarters of Operation Wallacea are in Lincolnshire, England, where we have been operating since 1998. The UK team are on hand to take your calls and emails all year round.
Operation Wallacea
Tel: +44 1790 763194 e-mail: info@opwall.com
Who's who at Operation Wallacea UK Project Director and founder of Operation Wallacea: Dr. Tim Coles Dr. Coles founded Operation Wallacea in 1995, and the Operation Wallacea Trust (Charity no. 1078362) in 1998. In doing so he designed and ran a series of projects that have not only resulted in the levering of over $2 million of funding for tropical conservation practices, but have also established protected areas and national parks, discovered over 30 new vertebrate species to science (plus many more invertebrate species), and have achieved numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals.
Tim has a PhD in fisheries management and over 13 years of experience in biological assessment in the UK water industry and National Rivers Authority. In 1990 he established both IEMA (the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment) and EARA (the Environmental Auditors Registration Association). IEMA now has over 12,500 individual and corporate members based in 87 countries, and is a leading international membership-based organisation dedicated to the promotion of sustainable development, and to the professional development of individuals employed in the environmental sector. EARA has now evolved into the IEMA Environmental Auditors Register, which has over 1,650 auditors listed in over 50 countries worldwide.
Tim and Operation Wallacea have received numerous awards for their work in the environment sector, including an RSA Better Environment for Industry Award, an EC Environment Award, the Best New Tourism Project Award from the Guild of British Travel Writers, and the British Airways Tourism for Tomorrow Award for Best Project in a National Park.
Director of Sales and Marketing: Pippa Disney Pippa started working with Operation Wallacea back in 1998 when we only operated in Indonesia. Now many years on, having travelled to Indonesia, South Africa, Mozambique, Cuba and Honduras, she heads up our sales and marketing teams. Having overseen the growth of Operation Wallacea from a company taking 15 volunteers on a trip to Indonesia to an organisation that now takes over 1500 individuals abroad every year, Pippa was recently appointed Director of Sales and Marketing and is responsible for all school and volunteer recruitment and management. When on expedition she misses her guinea pigs Tabitha and Arnold and puppies Oscar and Sam.
Director of Operations: Alex Tozer Alex first started working with Operation Wallacea in the summer of 2004, when he volunteered to work in a baking hot office in a dusty Honduran town for 3 months in the name of conservation. He has been addicted to Opwall ever-since, and is now involved in setting up and running the projects at each site. He has an MSc (distinction) in Psychology from Nottingham University, has professional qualifications in Occupational Testing and speaks bad South American Spanish with heavy english overtones.
Operations Team Research Coordinator: Dr Kathy Slater Kathy first became involved with Operation Wallacea in 2001 when she joined the Indonesian expedition as a general volunteer after completing her degree in Biology and Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU). She was immediately hooked on jungle living and returned to Indonesia with Opwall the next year to collect data for her MSc project on the Buton macaque. Following her MSc (distinction) in Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Liverpool, Kathy ran away to Mexico to conduct her PhD on the social relationships of wild spider monkeys. Upon completion of her PhD also at the University of Liverpool, Kathy returned to LJMU as a lecturer in Animal Behaviour. A few months later, Kathy found herself listening to the Opwall presentation at LJMU in the same lecture theatre as in 2001 volunteering to run a howler monkey project at the Opwall field site in Honduras. Less than a year later, Kathy joined the Opwall team on a full time basis to oversee the conservation management and primatology projects in Honduras and to coordinate student research projects across all Opwall field sites. Having lived in the jungle for too long to be accepted back into civilized society, Kathy continues to reside with her monkeys in Mexico.
Project Manager: Caroline Acton Caroline began as a Research Assistant with Operation Wallacea in Indonesia whilst taking her BSc in Zoology at The University of Wales, Aberystwyth. She immediately caught the expedition bug and headed to Honduras as Operation Wallacea field staff almost as soon as her final exam was completed. From there she went on to work full time in Operations in the UK office, undertaking five expeditions to Honduras and one in Cuba. In 2010 her love for travel and all things Latin American lead to her taking time out from Opwall to wander the Ecuadorian Amazon for ten months searching out weird and wonderful creatures, eating an obscene amount of rice and beans, and subjecting South America to her Spanish. Now back in the UK office she is involved in the Operations and logistics for the expeditions and is looking forward to another adventure coordinating the exciting new Mexico project in 2012.
Terrestrial Research and Operations Manager: Dr. Steve Green Steve first joined Operation Wallacea in 2004 when he completed his undergraduate dissertation on the endemic Cayos Cochinos Boa constrictor in Honduras while studying for a BSc in Zoology at Cardiff University. Since then Steve has gone on to complete his Ph.D. at DICE (University of Kent) on the Evolutionary Biology and Conservation of the Cayos Cochinos Boa, with financial support from Operation Wallacea. Steve then worked as the senior scientist for the Honduran marine research programme in 2011 before joining the team full time as our Terrestrial Operations Manager. In 2012, Steve will be embarking on his eighth season in Honduras with Operation Wallacea and will be responsible for coordinating our terrestrial research programme in Cusuco National Park.
Marine Research and Operations Manager: Dr. Dan Exton Along with an undergraduate degree in Marine and Freshwater Biology, Dan has a masters degree in Environmental Governance, both from the University of Essex and both involving field work with Operation Wallacea. He has also recently completed his PhD thesis on the links between oceanic primary productivity and climate change. Dan’s particular areas of interest include subsistence fisheries and their management, coral reef community ecology, and the role of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in marine ecology. Although the majority of his field research has taken place in Indonesia, where he has participated in eight expeditions with Operation Wallacea fulfilling a range of roles, Dan has also been involved in expeditions to Guyana and the Seychelles, and is a keen underwater photographer. Dan has published a number of scientific papers and book chapters to date, and joined Operation Wallacea in September 2011 to coordinate their marine research programme.
Science and Education Advisor: Dr Roger Poland Roger was Head of Science at a College in the West Country and has a long association with OpWall. He went on the first Honduras expedition and has taken many of his students to other Opwall sites. Roger graduated with a Zoology degree from Leeds University followed by a PhD at Exeter University based on Mediterranean Sea turtles and Environmental Education. Since then he has been an active member and trustee of MEDASSET – The Mediterranean Association to Save Sea Turtles. After teaching for 108 terms Roger has now joined OpWall and will be helping and advising on how OpWall and A levels students can get the best from their expeditions.
Operations administrator- Indonesia Projects: Pippa Mansell Pippa Mansell has been involved with Op Wall ever since she undertook her dissertation at the Indonesian marine site in 2004. After graduating from Plymouth with a 1st Class Honours degree in Marine Biology and Oceanography in 2005 she wandered round the world for 4 years working on a number of marine and conservation projects in various countries whilst exploring and generally enjoying herself the rest of the time. Her love of Indonesia took her back to Hoga every year as a member of staff and she has been site manager there since 2007. Pippa is also a director of the local Indonesian NGO, Lembaga Alam Mitra Wakatobi. 2009 brought Pippa back to the UK where for 6 months a year she is based at The University of Essex working as a senior research officer for Dr Dave Smith, head of marine research for Op Wall. Pippa continues coordinating the Indonesian marine site during this time whilst also undertaking her own work as a NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellow; the rest of the year finds her back in her beloved Indonesia.
Strategy Advisor: Steve Oliver A former Royal Marine SteveO has organised and run expeditions to the Tropics for the last 35 years. He has worked on expeditions with Operation Raleigh, Swale Treks, Trekforce, World Challenge as well as many Forces expeditions and special TV and film based expeditions. Steve is based in Jakarta and runs an Expedition Advisory Service for expedition groups going to Indonesia. He has worked with Op Wall since 1996 and has been part of the team that has helped the organisation grow from taking just a small number of volunteers to one destination in Indonesia to the current levels of research activity at 21 sites in 10 countries. SteveO is an invaluable source of advice on expedition management and runs the UK emergency team when the research teams are in the field over the summer or provides support at the field sites.
Office Manager: Alison Darlington Alison joined the operations team of Operation Wallacea in 2006. She had a very sweaty trip to Honduras in 2007, where she spent her time between the Cofradia office, Base Camp and Santa Tomas. In 2008 and 2009 she was the main Opwall representative in South Africa. Before joining the team she dreamed of being a primary school teacher and completed her degree at Bishop Grosseteste College in Lincoln. This dream went the way of those she had of being a farm secretary (NCFS at Riseholme College, Lincoln) and also a top notch secretary (RSA Group Certificate at West Anglia College). Her proudest achievement is her three children Charlotte, Jack and Harry.
Science and Education Officer: Charlotte Palmer Charlotte first joined Operation Wallacea on an expedition to Honduras in the summer of 2006 collecting data for her dissertation. After graduating from The University of Birmingham with a BSc in Zoology she returned to Honduras as Opwall’s small mammal scientist for the seasons of 2007 and 2008. Eager to pursue conservation as a full time career Charlotte returned to University and completed an MSc Applied Ecology and Conservation at the University of East Anglia. Gaining more experience Charlotte worked on conservation projects in Ecuador and Vietnam but in 2010 came back to Opwall to work in the UK office and spend her fourth season in Honduras. Charlotte now helps to run the CoPE scheme for our sixth form groups and she is looking forward to the new challenges ahead both in the office and out in the field.
Finance Manager: Gwen Roberts Gwen joined Operation Wallacea in 2008 and after two summers in the office managed to get out to South Africa this year on an Opwall expedition, where she was our representative in Sodwana Bay and got to complete her PADI Open Water. After a fantastic summer in the field Gwen has returned enthused and ready to continue her studies in accounts after nearly a decade away from the books. Before joining the Opwall team, Gwen spent 8 years working for accounts practioners, the first 2 in Uxbridge where she completed her AAT. In 2006 she completed a charity trek across Cuba, where she managed to raise money by cycling between all the offices of her then employer in 3 counties, covering 200 miles in just 4 days, and motivating colleagues, some she'd never met before, to join her along the way!
Finance assistant: Howard Collins Howard has many years experience in business management and sales, travelling extensively in the US as well as Asia. He gained an HNC in Media Production along the way, and in 2007 Howard re-trained as a mortgage advisor, achieving the CeMap qualification. Howard is now hoping to complete his AAT whilst working at Opwall as our finance assistant. Howard joined Opwall in December 2010.
Finance assistant: Natalie Askew Natalie joined the Opwall finance team in April 2011. Before joining Opwall Natalie worked in a school for over 10 years, as a teaching assistant. Natalie decided on a complete career change and will now be spending her second summer manning the UK office. Natalie has two teenage children which keep her occupied in her spare time along with coaching a local boys football team.
University Promotions Team
Alison
Curtis
Jeni Love Jeni graduated from The University of Nottingham with a Zoology degree in 2006. She then went on to join research projects on baboons in the Western Cape of Africa and elephants in Kwa-Zulu Natal. She also worked for Opwall’s partners, BioMap, in Egypt. In 2008 she decided to go back to uni to study for an MSc in Applied Ecology and Conservation, where she finally lead her own research project, investigating lizard population trends in the Seychelles. She graduated with distinction in 2009 and joined the Opwall team in March 2010.In summer 2010 Jeni helped co-ordinate the Amazonian Opwall projects and will be liaising with university students and academics during the 2010 university lecture tour.
Rachel Daniels Rachel graduated from The University of Sheffield in 2009 with a Masters in Biology. After graduating, she was offered an amazing opportunity to work in the Panama rain forest for 3 months as a lab research assistant for the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. This experience reinforced Rachel’s desire to pursue a career in Biology and conservation, and by joining the Operation Wallacea team, she hopes to achieve this ambition. Rachel joined the fundraising team in August 2010 and is looking forward to spending next summer on one of the Opwall expeditions.
Krisztina Szalai
Carys Edwards Carys has always had a love for wildlife and conservation, and her nerdy love for birds moved her to join an Opwall expedition to South Africa in 2009. The bug well and truly bit and in 2010 she returned to SA as a staff member, desperate to return to life in the bush. Carys joined the Opwall fundraising team in September 2010 and now has a demi-nomadic life, travelling the country visiting schools and universities enthusing and inspiring new fundraising groups.
School Promotions Team Helen Clark Helen graduated from the University of East Anglia in 2005 armed with a degree in Environmental Sciences. After graduating, she returned to UEA to top up her knowledge with a graduate diploma in Ecology. Whilst at UEA, she was presented with the chance to go to Egypt with Opwall in 2009. She went, and has been mildly obsessed with Egypt ever since. She joined Opwall in January 2010 as part of the school sales team. In her free time Helen is attempting to learn Arabic and helped co-ordinate the Opwall Egypt expeditions in 2010. Helen is co-ordinating the schools staff and is the initial contact for schools.
Craig Bell Craig joined the Opwall sales team in June 2011 after spending 6 years in the Leisure and Tourism industry as an Administration Manager. Prior to this Craig had a 2-3 year stint in the Royal Air Force, training to be a Policeman. Joining Opwall was a completely fresh challenge for him and an exciting opportunity to explore something new. Away from work Craig likes to spend time with his family, taking holidays and supporting the mighty Leeds. He has visited various places across the world such as the Maldives, Atlanta, Egypt and Florida enjoying the sights that come with each of them. After spending his first summer with Opwall manning the UK office, he is looking forward to spending his second summer with us in Honduras working and learning more about the Opwall experience that is ahead in his career.
Toby Farman Toby graduated from The University of Nottingham with a degree in Biotechnology in 2008, but after a 2007 trip with OpWall to Egypt developed a severe case of wanderlust so decided to travel the world. He spent two years travelling solo around Asia, Australia and South America and dramatically expanded his horizons by undertaking volunteer work. Teaching mentally disabled children in Himachal Pradesh in India, and building orphanages in Thailand were rewarding enough that on his return, he decided that conservation and working for OpWall were the perfect chance for him to keep saving the planet.
Rachael Forster Rachael participated in an Operation Wallacea expedition to Cuba in 2009 as a research assistant. After an amazing experience including reef ecology, diving, bat caves and turtles she realised this, along with seeing the world, was what she wanted to do. Rachael graduated in 2010 from Northumbria University, and was offered the fantastic opportunity to spend her summer in Cusuco National Park, Honduras, contributing to the scientific research as the Small Mammal Scientist. Since returning from the jungle expedition, Rachael has participated as a volunteer with The Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece - Archelon. She was involved in the turtle hatchling surveys and promotion of general public awareness of the threat to the endangered Loggerhead species in the area of Rethymno, Crete. Rachael joined the fundraising team in October 2010, and is looking forward to her next adventure!
How to find us We are located on Keal Road, just on the east side of Old Bolingbroke, nr Spilsby in Lincolnshire (PE23 4EX). The driveway is signposted both 'Wallace House' and 'Hope House'. The offices are straight ahead as you enter the driveway.
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