Great Crested Newt: Friend or Foe?
Update 26th Jan. 2021: This blog post is specifically about great crested newt surveys in Scotland, it does not apply in England where there are several systems in place to bypass the need to undertake GCN surveys for projects. The least common species of newt in Great Britain, great crested newts (GCN; Triturus cristatus) are often […]
Ecology Surveys of the Month: January
It’s well known that ecology is quite seasonally constrained. Certain species are active at times of the year where others are not. What this means is that as ecologists we need to time our surveys as best we can to collect suitable data. Surveying at the wrong time collects poor data and this can cause […]
Happy New Year from EP Ecology
Hello everyone and happy Friday! Over the course of the holiday break, I had a bit of a fiddle about with some of the settings on the website. Needless to say I broke it, so we were offline for the best part of a week. I think we’re back again but things might not be […]
2020 Roundup
Since kicking EP Ecology off properly in July this year, it’s been a bit of a wild ride. Leaving a comfortable, decent paying job with colleagues that you like and get on well with for the uncertainty of self-employment is maybe a little bit mental at the best of times, but to do it in the middle […]
Coronavirus: Level 4 Restrictions Update
With the news breaking yesterday that First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has taken the decision to place eleven counties in Scotland under Level 4 Coronavirus restrictions including South Lanarkshire, where EP Ecology is based, I thought perhaps a little update on how we are working. So, level 4 restrictions do facilitate continued construction and outdoor working, which includes […]
The Planner and the PEA
Local Planning Authorities (LPA) are duty-bound to assess the impact of all plans and projects on biodiversity, and more specifically on protected and notable species and habitats (such as badgers, invasive species, and native woodlands). Often the simplest starting point in many planning applications is to complete a Preliminary Ecological Appraisal (PEA). This survey comprises […]
Rewilding in Miniature: What can I do?
Rewilding (verb). “To restore an area of land to its natural, uncultivated state.” It sounds big, doesn’t it? Like something you can only do in a country estate. However, that’s not the case – in this blog I wrote for Kaitiaki Consulting Ltd I have explored some of the every day tasks that you, I, and anybody else […]
What is a Bat Survey Anyway?
You might be wondering what a bat survey is, and why you need to do one.Perhaps an existing consultant, planning authority or statutory body has told you that you can’t progress your project until you provide a bat survey report and you’re now questioning what on Earth all that means.Well, hopefully this blog will help! […]
An Introduction
Hello! I’m Erik Paterson, the Director of EP Ecology ltd., if you couldn’t have guessed from the rather imaginative company name. I made the decision to set up EP Ecology in June 2020, right in the midst of a global pandemic. Which, as I write this is still not clear whether it was a stroke of genius, or […]
