Botanical Experience
Ryan Sims is a consultant botanist and vegetation ecologist based in Newcastle. He has been surveying and collecting floristic data for more than a decade and has spent many years surveying grassy woodland ecosystems.
Botanical Experience
Ryan Sims is a consultant botanist and vegetation ecologist based in Newcastle. He has been surveying and collecting floristic data for more than a decade and has spent many years surveying grassy woodland ecosystems.
BOTANICAL EXPERIENCE
Ryan is a consultant botanist and vegetation ecologist, based in Newcastle, the Hunter.
Ryan is a highly experienced botanist surveying and collecting floristic data since 2006. During this time, he has undertaken comprehensive surveys to identify and describe poorly known plant community types under contract for the NSW Government. Ryan has undertaken large-scale vegetation mapping projects of private land and National Parks (>3,000 hectares). Consequently, Ryan has gained a thorough understanding of NSW flora in the Hunter, Lower North Coast, Central Coast, Central West and North Western Slopes.
Ryan has spent many years surveying and collecting floristic data from grassy ecosystems, which led to post-graduate research at UNSW with Professor David Keith on Box Gum Grassy Woodland, an Endangered Ecological Community. Ryan’s thesis evaluated alternate response models of endangered box gum grassy woodland following livestock exclusion. His conceptual model is one of very few studies that characterise vegetation response to fencing relative to initial states and reference states that represent restoration goals. The model provides a powerful framework for evaluating true progress in ecological restoration.
Ryan has experience in both private consulting and local government and has a thorough understanding of environmental legislation. As a consultant, he has managed large-scale assessments and led countless flora surveys, vegetation mapping and classification projects in NSW. He has liaised with all levels of government on complex flora and fauna issues. In local government, Ryan assessed development applications and formulated ecological conditions of consent, provided botanical advice for planning approvals and biodiversity conservation projects.
He is experienced in survey design and sampling techniques to collect meaningful data. Ryan is experienced in GIS mapping (MapInfo, QGIS), species distribution models (Maxent), statistical analysis (Primer and R) and fully licensed to complete flora surveys and vegetation assessments in NSW.
Ryan has a Master of Philosophy (Research) and Bachelor of Environmental Science.
Botanist Newcastle Ryan Sims
Learn some insight into Ryan Sims' interests as a botanist and vegetation ecologist in Newcastle.
Botanist Newcastle Ryan Sims
Learn some insight into Ryan Sims' interests as a botanist and vegetation ecologist in Newcastle.
About Ryan
I am fascinated by the natural world. So much so, I have modelled my career around trying to understand it. I find community assemblages fascinating and vegetation dynamics very interesting. I have two lovely children that keep me on my toes and a fantastic wife who accepts my obsession with plants.