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.
The Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) have re-launched the Roost Awards to promote best practice bat roost mitigation and enhancement. The BCT are inviting entries of case studies which demonstrate best practice in surveys / initial data collection, design and planning, monitoring and lessons learned /...
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...
In some circumstances the use of technology such as remote-activated cameras can significantly improve the quality of ecological data collected and the confidence in the outcome of mitigation, while also saving money for our clients through a more cost-effective and less labour intensive approach to work. Some recent examples are outlined below, along with the footage captured in each instance.
BSG Ecology has recently provided support to Ford and Etal Estates with regard to the renovation of estate cottages in the village of Ford, Northumberland. An initial appraisal suggested the cottages provided good roosting opportunities for bats due to both their age and setting. Bat surveys then found small bat roosts in a number of the cottages, and that one supported a maternity roosts of 270 soprano pipistrelle bats and 57 brown long-eared bats.
In late 2019 BSG Ecology made a substantial donation to Celtic Wildflowers, a Swansea-based company set up for the purpose of providing plants of local provenance for habitat restoration / creation projects and development-related mitigation work. Our assistance helped them to purchase a large new polytunnel needed to expand growing space and meet increasing demand for plants.
BSG Ecology is thrilled to have been short-listed for three prestigious Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) awards; best Medium (scale) Consultancy of the Year, best practice in (large-scale) Mitigation and best practice in Innovation. This is the third consecutive year we have been...
BSG Ecology's Gareth Lang is developing a motion sensitive infrared surveillance camera which is responsive enough to detect and monitor bat roosts. Currently, this is very hard to achieve using commercially available infra-red trail cameras, as the speed at which bats enter and leave roosts means that although these cameras may be triggered they seldom capture any footage. The video clip below, from March 2020, shows a lesser horseshoe bat entering and leaving a disused boiler in a church cellar near Monmouth, Wales.