Graduate Profiles

Andrew Heaver
BSc Ecological Science with Honours in Forestry

After graduating in 2005, Andy travelled to Brisbane, Australia, to attend the World Congress of IUFRO (International Union of Forest Research Organisations). During the Congress he presented the results of his Boab tree research in a poster presentation and also in a very brief verbal presentation. Following the Congress he attended an international forestry students’ event which was organised by some friends who study at Melbourne University. They travelled through numerous Kangaroo-infested Gum tree forests, visited several timber enterprises and learnt quite a lot about the difficulties currently faced by land managers in Australia.

Andy returned to the UK and ran a voluntary project for a local nature conservation group. The group were involved in locating and recording significant old trees in the nearby countryside that were useful for wildlife. As part of the project they did a bit of public relations work: Andy led a very successful public event “Trees in Winter”. The event’s success meant that they could go ahead with further public events later in the year and Andy was commissioned by the Northmoor Trust (a forestry and nature conservation organisation based in Oxfordshire) to lead a guided walk at one of their nature reserves.

At the end of October 2006, Andy started work as a researcher with Strategic Environmental Consulting, an Oxford-based company that specialises in assessing the environmental and social responsibility of its clients supply chains, and advising those clients on how to improve further their environmental performance. The clients are generally ‘blue-chip’ national or international corporations with sizeable purchasing power and ‘resource footprints’, so the impacts of their decisions can have some real consequence on the management of forests and other natural resources. Timber and paper supplies are a particular focus, with the company helping client firms identify which sources are likely to be legitimate and sustainable, and which ought to be avoided.

Outside of work, Andy has been co-ordinating the ‘Shotover Ancient Trees Project’ for a local environment organisation. The small-scale study he initiated last year, researching the old trees of Oxford’s Shotover SSSI has now grown into a Lottery-funded community project, thanks to the enthusiastic response of local communities and a lot of hard work. Ancient trees are increasingly recognised as a national conservation priority due to their importance as microhabitats and within the wider landscape, and their project aims to get local people out into the nearby countryside to help find, record and enjoy these natural treasures. They have had some very successful public events (some of which the Woodland Trust have asked to use as models for replication elsewhere in the UK), and good coverage in the local press.

Bertrand Salmi
BSc Ecological Science with Honours in Environmental Science

Bertrand undertook an MSc in Water Resource Engineering Management at Heriot Watt which he successfully completed in September 2006. During this time he was also a self-employed environmental consultant under contract with the Civil Engineering Department of Edinburgh University. After finishing his contract he went on to do his dissertation in France within an engineering research institute (le Cemagref).

In October 2006 Bertrand started working for Mott MacDonald based in Inverness. He is working on ensuring Scottish Water drinking water supplies all and complies with the objectives of the Water Framework Directive and the Birds and Habitats Directives. He is also involved in the delivery of a flood alleviation scheme for the River Ness and of a new drinking water supply for the Kyle Regional Water Scheme.

Luke Spadavecchia
BSc Ecological Science with Honours in Ecology

Luke is doing his PhD here in Edinburgh at the School of GeoSciences, Institute of Atmospheric & Environmental Science under the supervision of Dr Mat Williams entitled ‘Using Earth observation to quantify regional patterns of carbon dynamics. He is working on using space/time geostatistics to combine ground based observations and satellite based Earth observation data to parameterise and run carbon models. The point of doing this is because often things that are hard to measure on a large scale (e.g. soil carbon content) are just simulated in models. This often relies upon the assumption that the system is in some steady equilibrium state, which we know it is not: Ecosystems are dynamic (that’s why they are interesting). Luke proposes that by better using available data we can get a better understanding of carbon dynamics which is critical in terms of Kyoto forest schemes etc. By using spatially sparse but time rich ground data, combined with time sparse but spatially exhaustive satellite data this becomes a possibility.

Catriona Clunas
BSc Ecological Science with Honours in Environmental Science

After graduation Catriona went to work for a short time at the SRPBA (Scottish Rural Policy and Business Association) as a Policy Assistant. She has since taken up a job working as an environmental analyst for ECCM (Edinburgh Centre for Carbon Management) which is part of ESD (Energy for Sustainable Development).

Rebecca O'Hara
BSc Ecological Science with Honours in Conservation and Ecological Management

After graduation Rebecca got a job managing a community recycling project with RoWAN (Ross-shire Waste Action Network), before taking up the role as Project Officer in November 2006.

RoWAN is a community group which aims to involve a wide range of local people and organisations in improving waste management and awareness in Ross-shire. Their current project is the Waste-Free RCV Project. Through awareness raising in communities, schools and local groups the project aims to reduce household waste arisings and thus reduce the amount going to landfill. Data collected by the RCV (Refuse Collection Vehicle) of quantities of household waste across the duration of the project will highlight the success of awareness raising activities.