Anna Becvar (BSc (Hons), MI Soil Sci, C Sci, MBPR (FACTS)) is Managing Director of Earthcare Technical Ltd.  Anna coordinates the team’s energies in delivering a wide range of projects as well as working on her own.  She began working life on the family farm in Hampshire,  had a short spell with the then National Rivers Authority (now Environment Agency)  and then worked at SOYL Ltd in the pioneering stages of  GPS soil sampling and mapping and variable rate application of fertilisers.  She has then been very lucky to work within pioneering and innovative SMEs in the Agricultural, Renewable Energy and Waste sectors and on Government funded projects on behalf of WRAP and Natural England during her career.

Anna’s work includes Environmental Permitting for land spreading, waste storage and anaerobic digestion.  She is involved in the recovery of an  extensive array of waste materials to land, recycling, and product development activities to End of Waste.  She has recently been applying her unique soils, nutrient management  and environmental knowledge to nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient neutrality calculations and mitigation strategies across several Counties of England. Anna is a BASIS approved trainer for Advanced Modules. She really enjoys troubleshooting and working collaboratively with the Earthcare team to resolve complex challenges. 

Emily Shann Pitts (BSc Hons CEnv MIEMA) is a Chartered Environmentalist and a Full Member of Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) with 12 years’ experience as an environmental regulator for the Environment Agency and anaerobic digestion industry experience as an Environmental Compliance Manager. Emily has a holistic knowledge of the waste industry, definition of waste and regulatory standards in particular waste treatment, composting, anaerobic digestion and landfills.

 Emily specialises in environmental permitting and compliance across a wide range of regulated sectors. She provides pre-application advice including on suitability of location, design, drainage and containment for proposed sites. Emily is experienced in the development of Environmental Management Systems and is an Internal Auditor for ISO14001. Emily supports AD Plants through Certification with the Biofertiliser Certification Scheme incorporating PAS110 and ADQP, develops Quality Management Systems and can provide Internal Audits for the scheme. She is a WAMITAB qualified Technically Competent Manager for Anaerobic Digestion facilities.

Alice [BSc (Hons)] has over 11 years’ experience within the public and private sectors; working as an environmental regulator with the Environment Agency and as an Environmental Compliance Manager within the anaerobic digestion industry, critically overseeing the construction and commissioning phases of a number of AD plants.  Alice has broad range of experience across water and waste permitting and specialises in assisting companies apply, vary and comply with environmental permits. Alice has provided guidance to businesses on a range of environmental legislation and has experience leading with statutory body liaison. Alice is an experienced environmental auditor and practised in the production of Environmental and Quality Management Systems.

 Alice has a comprehensive understanding of anaerobic digestion, and has extensive experience spread across various waste sectors including landfill, waste transfer and treatment , hazardous waste, WEEE and ELV. She also has experience with auditing for compliance with Packaging (Producer Responsibility) and TFS Regulations. 

Susie Holmes (BSc Hons, CSci) is a soil scientist specialising in horticultural growing media and soil management. Susie has worked for ADAS for 25 years as horticultural and soils consultant, working across all crops in both consultancy and research projects. The specific areas of work Susie specialises in are the use of green compost for soil amelioration, soil erosion and the use of non-peat materials in growing media. She also has an interest in soil management of paddocks for horses, including soil and fertiliser advice for studs and horse owners. Susie is a BASIS approved trainer on the BASIS FACTS Horticulture and Nutrient Management Planning courses and is also a regular contractor for AHDB Horticulture, including presenting for their workshops on growing media and plant nutrition and co-authoring technical Factsheets.

Martin Wood (BA Hons, PhD, F I Soil Sci.) was born and raised in rural Warwickshire. After studying Agricultural and Forest Sciences he trained as an environmental microbiologist before specialising in soil science and spending 20 years in Soil Science at Reading University. He taught undergraduate and postgraduate students and carried out research all around the world on soil use and management. Martin’s passion is in transforming science into practice; since 2005 he has worked as a consultant with Earthcare Technical on soil management.

Clients have included Defra, AHDB, WRAP, local government and commercial organisations. Martin enjoys writing for technical and non-technical audiences and has published a pile of scientific papers and a student textbook (Environmental Soil Biology, 1995). He writes technical reports and delivers talks for Earthcare Technical Ltd. Martin is currently chair of the Luxembourg Government research-funding panel for Sustainable Resource Management