Action Oak Research Coordinator: How I Got Here
For Plant Health Week 2026, we're looking at scientists and introducing our newest colleague! Professor Melanie Smith, Research Coordinator, shares an early fascination with nature, who inspired her, and the journey through academia to her current 'discovery mode' in post at Action Oak.
What’s your current role?
I am the Research Co-ordinator for Action Oak which is a partnership initiative started in 2017 to focus research & monitoring, awareness and advice on oak health and protection. We work across the UK and with international partners.
Did you always want to work with trees?
I cannot remember a time when I was not fascinated by nature and was either outside exploring the local woods, fields and streams where I grew up in the chalk landscapes of the Chilterns, or growing plants – both outside and filling my bedroom with houseplants! Trees – in all their incredible diversity and complexity, have been an important part of my life and I am lucky I have had the chance to work with trees.
What did you study?
I had a balance of interests in arts, humanities and science at school and ended up studying Classical Civilisation, Geography and Biology at A Level, and then went on to read a joint degree in Biology and Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London. That led to a Ph.D. investigating the vegetation and woodland history of the post-glacial landscapes of northern Scotland and how Neolithic and Bronze Age people interacted with their environment.
Who were your science/academic role models/who inspired you?
I was really lucky to have some inspiring teachers at school and university. When doing A levels my biology teacher had undertaken a Ph.D on barn owls and he introduced me to the idea that it was possible to have a career asking questions and developing projects to work out the answers – research! He had also used his research to directly inform barn owl conservation – and he realised that I was interested in finding solutions to the challenges in wildlife conservation and management. At university my tutor, Professor Pat Morris was also a great mentor for me personally and he has was inspiring in the way he led the field in hedgehog research to inform conservation of a declining species. However, as a role model and someone who achieved so much, with such humility, humour and great respect for nature and people, the late Dame Jane Goodall is a great inspiration.
What was your first job?
During the summer while at University, I got a job working with the Bucks County Council Landscape Ecologist – it included tree surveys and designing wildlife gardens for schools. My first academic job was Lecturer in Landscape Ecology at the School of Agriculture and Horticulture in Lincolnshire.
How did you get into forestry?
My connection with forestry as a sector began with my job in Lincolnshire as I worked with forestry lecturers developing linked degrees in Forestry, Crop Protection and Forestry. Later, with the University of the Highlands and Islands, I worked closely with the Scottish School of Forestry and the wider forestry sector.
What do you love about Action Oak?
Oak trees are amazing organisms – from acorns to truly ancient individuals, and with cultural legacies in the way the timber is used in buildings and preserved bog oak is used symbolically. I am very lucky to have the chance to be involved in ensuring we have the best understanding possible about our oak trees so they can be protected and flourish.
What areas of science are you finding most exciting right now?
I am still in ‘discovery’ mode of all the incredible science that is underway on oaks, but the current work developing the use of environmental DNA to help early detection of plant pathogens is exciting in the potential it might have for oak health protection.
What one thing would you tell your younger self starting out?
Always believe in yourself and seek out mentors who believe in you.
