Summer Research Placements
2026 Opportunities

What is a NERC REP?

The NERC Research Experience Placements (REPs) scheme funds paid summer placements for undergraduate students, with the aim of encouraging the next generation to consider a career in environmental science. REPs address both the quantitative skills gap in environmental science and underrepresentation in the field. Placements are hosted by institutions involved in NERC doctoral training. NETGAIN is a NERC Doctoral Focal Award, and students work directly alongside active research teams on real, current projects.

The REP will focus on the exploration of using regionally-appropriate plant species in net gain habitat creation projects. Recent work by the team (Brennan, Dawson and Willis, 2025) has shown, for a single species, that there is regional variation in plant performance and that plants derived from seed bought from typical suppliers has a different genetic and phenotypic signature to local varieties. The current project will extend the tractable stages of this work, whilst furnishing the student with invaluable field and lab skills, and fieldwork experience.

A major focus of the work will be to collect, under supervision, local varieties of seeds, whose performance can then be contrasted, in experimental germination and growth settings, with supplier-bought seeds, in greenhouse and petri-dish trials. We have extensive experience of such trials, so have confidence that the experiments will yield useful results. The results, however, will be entirely novel and may dictate the direction of current and future BNG projects.

Through our local links with Tarmac PLC and Durham Wildlife Trust, we will have access to plentiful seed sources for limestone grassland and fenland habitats. The student will also be exposed to work associated with a BNG spin-out company that is growing native plant species for habitat creation projects, and will learn about both the horticultural and financial aspects of working in the field of net gain in the private sector, including direct training from horticulture staff.

Understanding the food supply for oyster growth is a major barrier to delivering both restoration work and aquaculture production, as spawning and recruitment in oyster species is tied to the quality and amount of food available during the early life-stages of the animals. This project will quantify plankton communities in field locations known for oyster growth, both Pacific and native, in the Inner Hebrides, aiming to: 1) determine relative abundance of oyster larvae across sites, 2) correlate in-water densities with settlement rates on spat collectors, and 3) compare phytoplankton communities present in different coastal locations with similar hydrodynamic regimes.

With support, the student will be responsible for collecting approximately 50 plankton samples and associated water chemistry measurements from at least three sites (Loch na Kael, Mull; Loch Gruinart, Islay; and Kilchoan Estate, Oban) during three time windows. After collection, they will process samples through a FlowScope to identify the communities, and perform initial statistical comparisons over tidal cycles and sampling windows. If timelines allow, they will also visit Rossmore Oysters in Cork, to support the fieldwork of a PGR student this summer, by quantifying spawning densities within spatting ponds of the oyster farm.

River restoration is a rapidly growing field of conservation, seeking to enhance habitat for biodiversity, reduce flooding, improve water quality, and provide new opportunities for nature markets. At the Corrour Estate in Scotland’s central Highlands, a river restoration project installed Large Woody Structures (tree trunks) in the River Ossian in summer 2025. We undertook an initial survey of a 2 km reach using a fixed-wing drone in November 2025, and sediment had already begun to accumulate behind the dead wood.

This project will: (1) repeat the survey in July or September 2026; (2) quantify the change in morphology of the study reach; (3) review literature and datasets and evaluate the potential for monitoring other aspects of hydrological condition in the Corrour Estate; (4) circumstances permitting, undertake baseline surveys of new areas; (5) produce a short technical report; and (6) present the datasets and outputs to stakeholders.

The student will work alongside a NETGAIN PhD student within the School of Geography and Sustainable Development’s Environmental Change Research Group.

This project aims to undertake a high-resolution UAV survey of the Dornoch Firth to map the current extent and condition of intertidal habitats, including tidal flats, saltmarsh, seagrass, and biogenic reefs. Using a UAV equipped with a hyperspectral camera, the study will capture detailed spatial and spectral data during low tide, enabling precise discrimination between habitat types. Ground-truthing surveys will support classification accuracy.

The processed imagery will generate fine-scale habitat maps and contribute to blue carbon research by linking mapped habitats with established carbon stock values to estimate total carbon storage. The project will also incorporate a marine net gain perspective by identifying opportunities for habitat restoration and evaluating associated biodiversity and carbon benefits.

The student will develop valuable technical skills including UAV survey design, hyperspectral data processing, habitat classification, and GIS-based spatial analysis.

This project will quantify whether wildflower restoration under BNG is altering the genetic diversity of native plant populations. As wildflower meadow restoration expands across the British Isles, the use of commercially sourced seed may unintentionally alter the genetic composition of native populations. This project focuses on focal grassland species (including red campion, devil’s-bit scabious, and yellow rattle), comparing genetic diversity and structure in wild populations with commercially supplied stocks using modern genomic approaches.

The student will analyse leaf samples collected nationwide (via Plantlife UK and other partners), undertaking genomic DNA extraction and preparing sequencing libraries to generate genome-wide diversity data. Training in molecular ecology techniques will be provided.

The placement includes laboratory work, participation in team meetings, and engagement with the wider project context. There is scope for the student to engage with socio-economic aspects by contributing to analysis of land manager perspectives on restoration schemes.

This project will support nature recovery by using long-term data to minimise the risk that shifting baseline syndrome will homogenise Net Gain targets. It will address this in upland ecosystems with long management legacies where shifted baselines in nature restoration have already been demonstrated, for example in English moorlands and Scottish wetlands.

With a focus on peatlands, the project will examine how space-for-time substitution compares with composition, turnover and range of variability in pre-industrial ecological timeseries, derived from historical and palaeoecological sources.

The placement student will: identify long-term palaeoecological and historical data with a focus on Scottish peatlands; analyse diversity and turnover metrics; evaluate current site management targets compared to long-term range of variability through data comparison and manager engagement; and produce a report with feedback to participating sites.