Upland Habitats training

The woodlands Trust hire us, to deliver a pilot training program on Plant Identification for Priority Habitats. I designed the training sessions for upland habitats in Geltsdale NR. Two days full of plant id in heathland, mires and stream habitats. The feedback was very positive.

Pollen longevity

We got a small contract collecting flowers and pollen from different plant species. This was a research project done by University of Leeds, Kew Gardens and NERC. It was quite interesting looking at flowers in such small details and do the job of a bee.

Grasses

We did two training sessions, one for a consultancy based here in the North East of UK. Also in January 2023 we did a workshop for biology students at Universidad del Valle de Guatemala . Two very different groups, environments and grass species but the interest and fun was the same.

Hetton bogs

We were commissioned to do a National Vegetation Classification survey for Hetton Bogs, near Hetton le Hole. This was a very interesting area with different habitats, swamps, ponds, wetlands and wet woodlands. The access to some of these habitats was not easy and a use of drone was needed.

Butterfly survey at Blyth

2022 saw me doing the first butterfly survey as a consultant. I had the help and expertise of Val Standen that taught me how to do the transects, and butterfly identification.

Two-day course on urban flora, Guatemala City

The Covid Pandemic has affected the whole planet and that meant that Biology Students couldn’t do any field work related to Nature Conservation.  Verde-ecology Consultancy offered a two day course to biology students and people working in nature conservation about the Urban Flora inside Guatemala City. We visited two nature reserves in the outskirts of the city.  Kanajuyu and Guardabarranca and we explored …

Verde-ecology Consultancy Response to the Coronavirus Outbreak (COVID-19)

In light of the uncertainty we face following the outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19), we want to reassure our clients , staff and friends that their welfare will always be put first. Verde-ecology Consultancy are currently continuing to operate as we are able to do this in accordance with current government guidance. We are implementing the following preventative measures in our …

Local wildlife site monitoring and condition assessment

Summary: Local Wildlife Sites monitoring. The Durham Biodiversity Partnership asked us to conduct Condition Assessments in several of the LWS in County Durham, as part of their monitoring program. These sites are all included in the Durham Biodiversity Action Plan due to their ecological importance. The assessments included full plant species lists, condition assessments and management recommendations. Methodology: The sites …

Condition assessment in the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

Summary: We spent a month surveying limestone pavement, calcareous grasslands and flushes inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park. The area surveyed was between the town of Skipton and Gargrave. Methodology: During this period, we completed Condition Assessments for each one of the sites visited. For grassland habitats we did 1 x 1-meter quadrats recording indicator species for calcareous habitats, as …

Botanical Survey of brownfield sites throughout the North East

Summary: The SUCCESS project is part of the Newcastle University research program. Its main aim is to determine the performance of soils to act as a carbon sink, by engineering them to absorb carbon and to convert them into a benign state. We helped to survey 20 brownfield sites, in Gateshead, Newcastle and Stockton, recording vegetation data, that included plant …