Heather Plumpton

Head of Research - Green Alliance Charity

Heather has a PhD in Environmental Science from the University of Reading and a BA in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge. During her PhD she did a 3 month fellowship at the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology in the UK on climate change and agriculture. Towards the end of her PhD she took part in the Climate Services Academy Training programme on evidence synthesis for decision makers at the Walker Institute. She then worked at the Walker Institute as an Interdisciplinary Research Fellow for 2 years, including projects on climate risk analysis, groundwater and integrating flood forecasting with impact assessments to support disaster risk reduction work.

Since leaving the Walker Institute, Heather joined Green Alliance, an environmental charity and think-tank based in Westminster, UK, as a policy analyst and is currently head of research (job share). She works on a project focused on implementing the findings of the Dasgupta Review into actionable UK policy solutions. Her work has particularly focused on the role of private finance in delivering nature restoration. She also works on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS), North sea oil and gas, critical raw materials like lithium needed for net zero and the transition to a circular economy.

A brief statement about your experience at Walker and how it has influenced your career
Taking part in the Climate Services Academy Training programme towards the end of my PhD changed the way I thought about research and the power it has to make change in the world. I learnt how important it is to start with the experience of people on the ground, and tailor my research to provide what they needed in order to take action.

I have taken this approach into my work to try and create change in UK policy and politics. Often when confronted by a problem I will think about what would create the enabling environment that a decision maker would need to move forwards. I also met some incredible people through working at the Walker Institute, who inspired me to be ambitious in the scale of change you want to create, recognise what skills you bring to the problem and importantly what others are bringing.

You don’t have to do everything, and actually you probably shouldn’t be the one doing some of it. The 2 years I spent at the Walker Institute taught me a lot, changed my perspective on many things and were also full of joy and laughter. I hope the team continues to thrive and grow.