Nigel is the son of a farmer in South Oxfordshire. The early part of his career was working for The Nature Conservancy Council as an estate worker on a National Nature Reserve. He then became assistant warden for the National Trust in the Chiltern Hills and followed that with world travel and a period as a tree surgeon. A return to nature conservation found him as a warden for English Nature then as Head Warden for the National Trust for Dartmoor. Eventually he gave that up because the job had become an office job and he wanted to return to his native Chiltern Hills where he is now a self employed contractor providing a range of countryside management tasks, from hedge planting to hedge laying, habitat creation, conservation advice and management plans.

He is Vice Chairman of the National Hedgelaying Society and a member of HEDGELINK the steering group for national hedgerow policy. He has produced many articles on hedgerow management, appeared many times both on television and radio and written and produced 2 DVD's on the subject. He is currently involved in a 5 year research project looking at different aspects of hedgerow management. He gives many talks and training days to landowners and the general public around the country.