About

Hi! I’m Vicky Bowskill, an illustrator, storyteller and scientist with a passion for creative science communication. I help environmental researchers increase engagement with their projects through inclusive and imapctful visuals.

Currently a part time PhD researcher at the Open University, I’m studying the sustainable management of floodplain meadows to find the best balance for nature-friendly farming and biodiversity conservation. You can find out more about this over on the Blog.

When not PhDing, I’m available for select environmental SciArt commissions so please do get in touch with your projects and ideas at vicky@vickybowskill.com. Check out my SketchNotes and SciToons pages for a taste of what I offer. And you can find a range of unique merch in my Wyldflower Designs shop.

Client testimonials

“It was an absolute pleasure to work with Vicky. She was extremely organised and efficient, providing us with costings, a quote, and licence information very swiftly. She undertook the graphical recording shortly after the event, thereby allowing us to disseminate the illustration rapidly after, and build on the momentum from the event. The graphical recording itself was beautiful – really impactful – and accurately summarising the key themes of the event. It received 11,000 impressions in LinkedIn within a couple of days, and this is testimony to Vicky’s amazing illustration skills. We were ‘happy happy’ with the graphical recording and the whole process. I can’t recommend Vicky enough!“

Emma Ferranti, Trees and Design Action Group

“It was fantastic and an absolute pleasure to work with Vicky.  Not only is she well organized but also has the passion for illustration.  When we began the plans for this illustration, Vicky highlighted that she had never seen a macadamia tree or flower before. However after sharing with her the pictures and answering some of the questions she had and what I wanted, the end result was a great piece.  I must say I believe this is the first high resolution macadamia illustration I have seen this far.  I am very pleased with the work she has done and believe this will be of great value to the macadamia industry and my thesis.  I can therefore recommend Vicky for your work. PS you won’t be disappointed!”

Emmanuel Junior Zuza, PhD Researcher, The Open University

Past clients and collaborations

Publications

Bowskill, V.; Bhagwat, S.; Gowing, D. (2023), Depleting soil nutrients through frequency and timing of hay cutting on floodplain meadows for habitat restoration and nutrient neutrality, Biological Conservation, Volume 283, 110140, ISSN 0006-3207, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2023.110140.

Chapter ‘Hay time’ p68-74: Iain Parkinson (2022), Meadow, Kew Publishing (5 May 2022), ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1842467476, ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1842467473

Awards and recognition

‘Global Challenges: Hope and Local Action’ arts competition 2022
Funded by the FASS (Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences) Centre for Scholarship and Innovation and The Global Challenges and Social Justice Teaching Lab, The Open University  
Voices from the Floodplain: from moonscape to meadow

Floodplain Meadows Partnership Art & Craft Competition 2021
Forever Meadow: a poem

Open University poster competition 2021
Hay Days project poster
People’s Choice Prize and Judge’s Choice: Best use of imagery

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