On Monday 14 September 2026, we welcomed Ross Wingfield (GL 1990-95) back to King's as our first OKS speaker for the academic year.

Ross is a restoration consultant helping farmers, landowners, and estates recover nature at scale. He specialises in habitat recovery, rewilding strategy, BNG design, unlocking environmental finance, species reintroduction, plus habitat and connectivity mapping.

From King's to Kingfishers: Becoming the Tallest Man in Rewilding

Ross started his talk by mentioning the teachers at King’s who had inspired him. He studied Biology, Chemistry and Geography at A Level, and remembered Ms Pickering, Mr Bee and Mr Thane, amongst others, as teachers who had made a particular impression on him.

After King’s, Ross studied Zoology at Swansea University. He encouraged pupils to make the most of their time at university, especially the friendships and experiences outside the classroom, which he said are just as important as what happens in the classroom. During his travels around the world after university, he discovered his love for nature and the outdoors.

Ross spoke about the various roles he has held in Australia and the UK, restoring habitats and managing land for wildlife. He has worked with organisations including the WWT, Wildlife Trusts, the National Trust and National Landscapes. A common theme throughout the talk was the importance of learning to communicate with different people. Rewilding is about change, and communicating the need for that change to organisations and landowners is a key part of the work. Not everyone understands the need for change, so building relationships and knowing how to talk to different people is essential in helping them navigate it.

Drawing on 25 years of experience, Ross has now set up his own nature restoration consultancy, Nature Works.

Looking to the future of the profession, Ross noted that many nature restoration companies did not exist 10 years ago. As people increasingly understand the need to introduce more wildlife, restore damaged habitats and build biodiversity, the opportunities in this field are growing. Ross told pupils that the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, meaning there is still much work to do. At the end of the talk, pupils had the opportunity to ask Ross questions about his work, the challenges he has faced and how they can get involved in nature restoration on a smaller scale.

We’d like to express our thanks to Ross for returning to King’s and delivering such an engaging and thought-provoking talk for our pupils.

You can learn more about Nature Works here.

We are always looking for OKS and parent speakers to return to King’s and share their experiences with pupils. If you’re interested in delivering a talk, please get in touch with the Development Team by email: community@kings-school.co.uk