Before moving to York in January 2017, Ben studied Geography at Cambridge University and both his Masters and PhD in Human Geography at the University of Edinburgh. His PhD research explored the historical animal geographies of osprey (Pandion haliaetus) conservation in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Scotland. Ben’s thesis narrated and explored the ways in which humans and ospreys in Scotland are historically intertwined – involved – with each other. Through five stories, chronicling the militarised nest-defense of ‘Operation Osprey’ at Loch Garten (begun in 1956), as well as later initiatives to manage the birds on Speyside, his thesis explored complex ethical questions concerning the human-animal relations that arise amidst attempts to ‘secure’, know and foster a successful species re-colonisation.