Will Millard

NBN Atlas Biodiversity Data Officer

Email: w.millard@nbn.org.uk

Role at the NBN Trust

  • Help existing and new data providers to share datasets on the NBN Atlas.
  • Contributing to the development and application of new data standards and new NBN Atlas functionality.
  • Reporting on key metrics relating to data sharing, downloads, and the impact of NBN Atlas data.

About Will

I grew up in semi-rural Wiltshire. My grandmother owned the field behind our house, so many hours of my childhood were spent outside surrounded by nature. Many hours were also spent on our HP 9000 computer, however my game selection was limited to the edutainment genre. I took root in my secondary school, and ended up working as an IT technician, art and design technician, stop-motion animation instructor, supply teacher, and general nuisance.

I enrolled on a foundation course in Life Sciences at Abingdon and Witney college, which led to a degree in Biology at Oxford Brookes University. Here I was able to get involved with a variety of ecological research, studying the role of parasitic plants in species-rich fens and unravelling genetic and morphological differences between populations of Common Blue butterflies in the UK. I secured a placement with the Natural England Field Unit and spent a summer working with field ecologists across the UK. I also discovered my passion for R and statistics and worked as a teaching assistant for various undergraduate modules.

After completing post-graduate studies, I spent some time honing my data science skills before joining the NBN Trust in December 2023. Outside of work I enjoy collecting various objects (guitars, mandolins, pipes, letter openers) and making a mess in the kitchen baking and cooking.

Publications

Arif, S., Gerth, M., Hone-Millard, W. G., Nunes, M. D. S., Dapporto, L., & Shreeve, T. G. (2021). Evidence for multiple colonisations and Wolbachia infections shaping the genetic structure of the widespread butterfly Polyommatus icarus in the British Isles. Molecular Ecology, 30, 5196–5213. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16126