October 2025 marked the end of my first field season as a botanist at SES, working predominantly on the England Ecosystem Survey (EES) for Natural England, and what a season it was.
The EES is a nationwide programme designed to capture detailed, high-quality botanical data from randomly selected 1 km² survey squares (monads) across England. Its aim is ambitious but vital: to build a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the condition of England’s habitats, vegetation and natural capital. Being part of that effort through my role at SES has been both a privilege and an adventure.
Working Across England’s Landscapes
Over the course of the season, my work took me across much of the country, from the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales, down to Cornwall, and across counties including Essex, Herefordshire and Shropshire, to name just a few. Every monad offered something different: new landscapes, new access challenges, and new plant communities to explore.
One of the most rewarding aspects of the job was the sheer variety. One week I might be surveying upland habitats surrounded by sweeping moorland views; the next, carefully recording species in lowland grasslands or arable field margins. It genuinely felt like a dream job, hiking through some of England’s most beautiful places while recording the plants that define them.
A Typical Week in the Field
A typical week often began with travel. Depending on the distance, Mondays were usually spent driving to a new location, arriving in the area and scouting out the monad so we could work efficiently for the rest of the week.
Once established, the working day followed a familiar rhythm.
• 7:00am — Wake up and get ready for the day ahead
• 8:00am — Head out to the monad, return to where we finished the previous day, and switch on the Geode GPS device to connect to satellites
• 8:30am — Arrive on site and hike to the first survey square
Each monad contains between four and six randomly selected hectares. Within these hectares, we carry out detailed vegetation surveys using 2 × 2 metre vegetation plots. As the lead surveyor and FISC level 4 botanist, I recorded all plant species present in each plot, along with their abundance.
The time required for each square varied hugely. In simpler vegetation, surveys could be completed relatively quickly; in more complex habitats, a single square, including all associated plots, could take well over two hours. Accuracy and consistency are critical, so time is always taken to get it right.
Capturing the Bigger Picture
Beyond vegetation plots, we also surveyed linear features such as hedgerows and riparian habitats, ensuring these ecologically important features were fully represented in the dataset. These elements often play a key role in habitat connectivity, something the England Ecosystem Survey is designed to capture.
For the next seven hours or so, the day unfolded square by square: hiking across the monad, collecting detailed botanical data, and taking moments to appreciate the landscapes and plant communities around me. From upland acid grasslands and blanket bogs to calcareous grasslands and arable margins, every site told its own ecological story.
Reflecting on the Season
Fieldwork on the EES was physically demanding, mentally engaging and incredibly rewarding. It required careful observation, strong plant identification skills and a real appreciation of how habitats function as part of wider landscapes.
As my first full field season as a botanist at SES, it was an unforgettable experience, one that reinforced why high-quality botanical survey work matters so much. Through SES’s involvement in the England Ecosystem Survey, we’re contributing directly to the evidence base that will inform future environmental policy and land management across England.
It’s challenging work, but it’s exactly where I want to be.
By Matthew Keough, Botanist – Southern Ecological Solutions