FVC is pleased to announce the arrival of Principal Botanist, Martin Henson.
Martin joined FVC earlier this month as our long-awaited and much anticipated source of botanical wisdom. As a specialist in the field of botany, Martin brings a depth of knowledge from almost 30 years’ experience in consulting in WA. Following on from a career in horticulture, he has an intimate knowledge of the flora, communities and ecosystems across Western Australia.
In addition to decades leading teams and managing projects, Martin has a track record of contributions to the full spectrum of project delivery tasks. This has consistently covered everything from study scoping, design and logistics, to field surveys and reporting, with everything between. Staying committed to quality science in consulting, Martin has never lost his passion for pure botany tasks such as field work and flora identifications. He has deomstrated an unwavering involvement in all aspects of project delivery across his career. He therefore brings a uniquely comprehensive cross-section of expertise across all technical tasks of project execution.
Respected for his depth of technical knowledge, Martin has also appeared as an Expert Witness in the Mining Warden’s Court, testifying on botanical survey matters. He has experience working on major projects across Western Australia including the Perth, South-West, Pilbara, Kimberley, Goldfields and Murchison regions associated with the mining and resources, infrastructure and private development sectors. Martin is adept at scoping and planning botanical assessment and monitoring programs, and he is a seasoned project manager and experienced leader.
Not wasting any time, Martin has already jumped into FVC life feet first, including:
- Ticking off his first field survey with a trip to the Goldfields
- Establishing a new professional development program for our botanists
- Sourcing a secret weapon for efficient field data collection
- Taking on a revamp of our report structure for optimised readability
Phew!
When he’s not being a botanical guru, Martin enjoys getting out to see live music and hitting the water on his eFoil hoverboard. Although he is owned by two cats, he enjoys regular local and international travel. And while work generally provides an adequate supply of bushland interaction, Martin also enjoys getting out in nature so he can amaze his long-suffering wife with his astounding knowledge of the surrounding flora. And if all that wasn’t enough, Martin offsets hours of sitting in the office with a regular spot at the gym, to be sure he maintains his field fitness.
A very warm welcome to the FVC team, Martin!