Training & Development

Ahead of upcoming changes to wildlife policy and legislation, Kirsty Kirkham (Director) and David Stiles (Senior Ecologist) were invited to talk to the University of Sheffield Estates and Facilities Management Teams. The presentation looked at the practicalities of managing ecological issues that might arise as part of planning a proposed development, within the context of current biodiversity legislation and policy guidance. It then went on to focus on the implications of Brexit, the draft environment bill and how to navigate the risks and opportunities associated with biodiversity net gain.
25 November, 2020

Training provision during 2020 has been significantly complicated by Covid-19. To address this, we have attempted to integrate job-related work with training wherever possible. One such initiative has seen Dr Jim Fairclough, our lead entomologist, providing training to staff based in South Wales, Derbyshire and Newcastle in invertebrate survey.

05 November, 2020

This article aims to provide guidance to students, graduates and early career ecologists on the skill sets they might seek to develop, and how to set themselves apart from their peers in a highly competitive job market. It is an updated version of the article last...

25 September, 2020
One of our most challenging but enjoyable (in retrospect) internal training courses concerns the public inquiry process and the role of an expert witness. This is a one day course that is delivered to new and recent recruits within BSG and occasionally to external audiences. It includes classroom teaching and a mock inquiry with an inspector, expert witnesses, cross examination and re-examination. To increase the sense of formality and to give attendees a more realistic sense of inquiry procedures the training is held in an unfamiliar venue set up to reflect a typical inquiry location and those attending are asked to dress appropriately as if they were involved in a real inquiry situation.
04 March, 2020
BSG Ecology is committed to the professional development of staff at all levels in the organisation. Our second management training day was delivered to our Senior Management Group (SMG) on 27 February 2020. The training was bespoke, and reflected feedback from a previous broader-based training day on leadership and management in mid-2019.
28 February, 2020
Over the past six months all BSG Ecology’s Directors have attended a two-day course on Mental Health First Aid Training. The role of a Mental Health First Aider in the workplace is to act as a go to person for any staff member experiencing a mental health issue, and direct them towards the resources or professional help they need.
14 January, 2020
For the past three years BSG Ecology’s Kate Rooney has been an invited to deliver a lecture to final year Oxford Brookes Biosciences students as part of their Ecological Consultancy module. During this year's talk, Kate outlined the role which ecological consultants play in development projects, and the skills and qualities which BSG Ecology look for in a graduate level recruit. The students then worked through a case study based on a project BSG had been involved with, and discussed the scope and specification of protected species surveys for the site along with potential mitigation solutions.
17 December, 2019

During winter 2019/20 ecologist Emily Moore has taken a sabbatical to travel and to work with the African Bat Conservation Trust. She has been involved in research in relation to the ecology of various bat species, including little epauletted fruit bat, white-bellied free-tailed bat, yellow-bellied house bat, and Egyptian slit-faced bat, and has also taken part in local projects to raise awareness of the benefits of healthy bat populations to ecosystems and local communities.

06 December, 2019