Archive of: February, 2017

Hexicon AB’s Dounreay Trì floating offshore wind farm has been approved by Highland Council and has gained support from RSPB.  This groundbreaking demonstration project would be built in Caithness, and could change the face of offshore wind, but still requires approval from Marine Scotland and Scottish Government before it gains consent.  Floating wind turbines will allow wind farms to be built further offshore, in deeper waters, limiting their impact on sensitive marine wildlife such as seabirds.

Caledonian Conservation Ltd is proud to have provided the complete suite of onshore ecology and ornithology services for the Dounreay Trì project on behalf of RES Offshore and Hexicon AB – offshore wind farms still need to connect to the grid on land, and Caithness hosts much sensitive wildlife.  Our surveys and Ecological Impact Assessment (EcIA) helped ensure the project avoids significant wildlife impacts onshore through careful design and mitigation.

Read more about the recent council approval on the BBC website.

Read more about RSPB’s support for the Dounreay Trì in The Scotsman.

Read the Dounreay Trì planning application, including the onshore ecology and ornithology Environmental Statement chapters, here.

Read more about Hexicon AB here.

Read more about RES here.

Chris Cathrine has taken on a volunteer role with Amphibian and Reptile Groups of the UK (ARG UK), as Scottish Policy Adviser.  Having stepped down as Scottish Representative in 2014 before the arrival of his first son, he has remained involved with the conservation of reptiles and amphibians – which, along with spiders and beetles first engaged him with the natural world as a child.  With the future of UK environmental protection currently uncertain, he felt it was necessary to dedicate more time to supporting ARG UK in their efforts to influence future policy for the benefit of Scotland’s native reptiles and amphibians.  This role offers the perfect opportunity for this.

Chris brings his experience gained through writing great crested newt and reptile survey and mitigation guidelines, researching Scottish grass snake distribution and over ten years as a professional ecologist (in consultancy, conservation charities and local authority), as well as almost three decades of surveying for these wonderful but often overlooked animals.

We feel it is essential that Caledonian Conservation Ltd gives back to communities as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility.  As such, we support conservation charities (through financial donation, in-kind contributions and expertise), conduct in-house research, support other research (through financial donation and provision of resources), provide training, deliver public talks to raise awareness of wildlife, run events for children to share our enthusiasm for the natural world and make as much of our publications and data available publicly (via our publications page and NBN Gateway).

For more information about ARG-UK, visit:  www.arguk.org