Hello

My name is Mel, an illustrator, naturalist and science communicator from the Calder Valley in Yorkshire.

At the heart of my practice is a desire to help people connect with the natural world. I design illustrations and educational resources, and facilitate trails and workshops to help people engage with Nature through curiosity and wonder.

My resources and workshops invite people to go on adventures to discover natural science concepts through stories, fun activities, and thoughtful prompts. My activity booklets and workshops encourage participants to investigate Nature through the eyes of a naturalist and document findings in Nature Notebooks, bringing together art, ecology and exploration.

My work is informed by my background in natural sciences.

I have experience working in the laboratory investigating the biochemistry of natural products produced by soil bacteria at the John Innes Centre, and in the field as a Soil Scientist at Fera Science Ltd. Here, I worked on the England Peat Map and the England Ecosystem Survey Projects.

Educational Resources

  • Designed a Family Activity Trail Booklet for Seeds of Hope community gardening festival at Shibden Park, Halifax (funded by CultureDale and West Yorkshire Combined Authority).

  • PeatZine project (funded by CultureDale and the National Lottery Heritage Fund): facilitated workshops, part of a pop-up exhibition and co-created a zine about the wonders of peat and Sphagnum moss along the Calderdale Way

    • Worked with Mytholmroyd Cubs: led an exploratory Nature trail on Heptonstall Moor and a naturalist-style workshop

    • Created a Nature Notebook activity booklet to record observations

  • Designed an activity booklet to accompany the residential programme for Biota Maule Naturalist Education Centre, Chile

Illustration Commissions

  • The University of Cambridge: an illustration to accompany a research publication by Dr. Thomas Ball (preprint available here)

  • Illustrated a children’s book by Dr. Edward Hems, Mission to Planet Violetti, published by Walnut Tree Books, 2022 (available to buy here).

Exhibitions

Select Previous Work

Thank you for visiting my website!

I hope this collection of my work will help you get to know me and what I do.

If you are interested in working together, please visit my Contact page, I’d love to hear from you.