NatureMetrics brings the power of genetics to frontline ecology, bridging the gap between molecular ecology research and the needs of environmental managers tasked with monitoring the natural world. Close links to several very active academic research groups help to maintain our position on the cutting edge of the field. Our focus is the use of high-throughput sequencing technology for rapid characterisation of whole communities, backed up with targeted assays for detecting individual species of interest. The methods we use are applicable in any terrestrial or aquatic environment, and can be applied to vertebrates, macroinvertebrates, meiofauna, microorganisms and plants. For large projects with complex monitoring needs we generate project-specific baseline data and establish a tailored programme of ongoing monitoring to meet the specific data requirements of the project.