Ecology Academy Podcast

#27 - Taking Action on Your Goals and How to be a Better Manager

We all need to make plans, but more importantly take action in implementing them!

This episode is not aimed to help you set goals, but instead it is focused on how to be a better manager. Whether you are a first line manager or a senior executive, we all need the tools to help us support ourselves and others.

If you're just starting out, you can download a copy of our Skills Wheel and Guidance Notes which will help you to make a start in recognising your areas of strength as well as those areas that could benefit from a little extra focus.

If you are new to 'managing' people then what support have you received to enable you to deliver the best results for your team, your company, and for you? Do you know what management style you need to use, when to use it, and why? Can you do so consistently? These are the questions that you need to ask yourself in how competent a manager you are and what action you may need to support you and others.

The Ecology Academy is developing a management training course for those new to, or soon to be, managing people. We recognise that management is not innate and needs to be developed over the entire duration of your time as an ecologist. This is not something you can learn after 1 day of training!

If you are interested in participating in our management training courses, then email us with an expression of interest to find out more at: hello@ecologyacademy.co.uk.

The podcast is available on all major streaming platforms, just search for 'Ecology Academy'.

If you have any recommendations for a future podcast topic, or would like to appear on the show, please do get in touch at hello@ecologyacademy.co.uk. We would love to hear from you!

How to get in touch

You can follow us or get in touch via our socials or at hello@ecologyacademy.co.uk

Website: https://training.ecologyacademy.co.uk/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecology-academy/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecologyacademy 

Instagram: @ecology_academy 

Twitter: @ecology_academy 

 

#26 - What is Biodiversity Net Gain and the Biodiversity Metric? Interview with Dr Nick White, Natural England

During this episode, host Richard Dodd interviews Dr Nicholas White, Principal Adviser on Net Gain for Natural England, and discusses what skills we need as ecologists to help deliver Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG). We get to hear Nick's insights into the Environment Act and the delivery of BNG, the newly updated biodiversity metric, standards, and guidance, as well as marine net gain!

Our Guest

Nick works across Government (at both a national and local level), and with developers, NGOs, and academia to advance policy, practice, and standards around net gain (including biodiversity, natural capital, and environmental net gain).

The current focus of Nick’s work is on biodiversity net gain legislation, the biodiversity metric, and biodiversity net gain standards and guidance, as well as working on the evolving approach to marine net gain.

As a non-ecologist, Nick is interested in how biodiversity and the natural environment can contribute towards wider social and economic benefits, and has a strong interest in green infrastructure, especially in relation to urban areas and its ability to enhance wider (grey) infrastructure resilience.

Nick enjoys engaging with different sectors and seeking opportunities to help secure the delivery of shared outcomes and has previously worked in the health, cultural, and charitable sectors.

This Episode

During the interview Richard and Nick discuss; how the biodiversity metric tool is not to be used as a decision-making tool, the need to bring ecologists on board at the earliest opportunity, the difference between a S106 Agreement and a Conservation Covenant, where to seek out training, and the advantages of on-site and off-site BNG delivery for developers. 

We also talk about landowners offering land to help developers deliver BNG and the commercial incentives to doing so, the biodiversity off-set register, management plans, and monitoring.

This was a great discussion, and the Ecology Academy are very grateful to Nick for offering up his time to talk with us on the podcast.

The Ecology Academy will soon be launching our own Biodiversity Net Gain Fundamentals training course, so be sure to check that out if you would like to run through a case study on how to use the biodiversity metric.

The podcast is available on all major streaming platforms, just search for 'Ecology Academy'.

If you have any recommendations for a future podcast topic, or would like to appear on the show, please do get in touch at hello@ecologyacademy.co.uk. We would love to hear from you!

How to get in touch

You can follow us or get in touch via our socials or at hello@ecologyacademy.co.uk: 

Website: https://training.ecologyacademy.co.uk/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecology-academy/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecologyacademy 

Instagram: @ecology_academy 

Twitter: @ecology_academy 

#25 - Career Guidance with Tilly Tilbrook: great advice from application through to interview

This month’s episode is from a discussion which was recorded as part of a live Q&A session for students at Nottingham Trent University during the delivery of our six-week Career Accelerator for Aspiring Ecological Consultants course for 2nd and final year students studying for a BSc in Wildlife Conservation.

Throughout the six weeks, students gained a thorough understanding of; the role of an ecological consultant and ecological consultancy, planning policy and legislation relevant to their work as an ecological consultant, considerations of what to put into a quote that would go to a client, preliminary roost assessment, preliminary ecological appraisal (both theoretical and practical application), protected species surveys and licensing, using QGIS to generate a habitat plan, report writing for ecological consultants, and finally, career guidance.

It was for this final career advice session that Tilly Tilbrook, Director at Integrated Environmental Solutions Ltd, kindly joined to share her expert insights on the recruitment process and what she looks for in candidates coming through as early career ecologists.

Our Guest

Tilly Tilbrook is a Chartered Ecologist who has worked in the industry since 2002. Her background includes working for local government, Natural England, and both small and large environmental consultancies. She founded Integrated Ecological Solutions Ltd in 2009, partly through a desire to work more ethically. Over the past thirteen years, she has employed many freelance and early career ecologists, and is part of the CIEEM working group looking at employment issues in the sector. 

During this recording we discuss the job advert, job application cover letter, CV, interview process, and finally some extra thoughts on obtaining missing skills where time and/or money may be limited.

Resources

Here is a non-exhaustive list of ways to bolster your CV through online training courses suitable for early career ecologists looking to work in the UK. Some are free, others are not.

*Free*
Join this Facebook group to learn more about QGIS. It's not comprehensive and you will have to search for what you're looking for, so if you are looking for a more complete introduction then we do have a QGIS training course aimed at beginners (see *paid*).

Watch Joshua Styles MCIEEM’s excellent webinar on Botanical Surveys for Development. 

The Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) often run free webinars or occasionally for a small £3-5 fee for non-members.

Recordings of free-to-attend webinars can be found on CIEEM’s YouTube and a list of paid-for recordings can be found under the ‘Webinars’ subheading of this webpage - a link is sent after access has been purchased.

There's also other early careers guidance on CIEEM’s website here: https://lnkd.in/dKSjmRCU.

Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (ARC) Trust have several free online training courses here: https://lnkd.in/ddfpTW4D.

*Paid*
Ecology Academy has a range of courses covering many different topics, including; Introduction to QGIS for Ecologists, Introduction to Bryophytes, Preliminary Ecological Appraisal Fundamentals, or for university/group courses (or individuals at certain times of the year) there is the Career Accelerator for Aspiring Ecological Consultants.

The Arboricultural Association has training on Bats in Trees.

The Field Studies Council also offer a variety of courses both online and across their many field centres: https://lnkd.in/dUrHPJfY.

Bat Conservation Trust have a range of online courses such as Thermal Imaging Basics and various acoustic analysis courses: https://lnkd.in/dG4Xj2WW.

How to get in touch

You can follow us or get in touch via our socials or at hello@ecologyacademy.co.uk: 

Website: https://training.ecologyacademy.co.uk/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecology-academy/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecologyacademy 

Instagram: @ecology_academy 

Twitter: @ecology_academy 

#24 - UK Habitat Classification System and the Digital Ecologist: interview with Paul Losse, Salix Ecology

Welcome to the first episode in a brand new season of the Ecology Academy podcast!

In this month's episode we focus on delivering everything you need to know about the UK Habitat Classification System (UKHab) and why, as a digital ecologist, it matters.

Our Guest

Our guest on this episode is Paul Losse of Salix Ecology. 

Paul worked as a Conservation Officer and Senior Specialist (land management and conservation) for English Nature and Natural England for 10 years. His roles have included providing advice to land owners on ecology, wildlife legislation, conservation land management, and carrying out habitat surveys. He has provided training and guidance to developers and local authorities on cases where nature conservation and protected species issues arise.

Paul also has nine years experience as a training consultant in the public sector.

Paul is the instructor on our popular training course, Introduction to QGIS for Ecologists.

UK Habitat Classification System

The UK Habitat Classification System was launched in 2018 and is a free-to-use, unified, and comprehensive approach to classifying habitats. It has been designed to provide a simple and robust approach to survey and monitoring for the 21st century.

The new classification, which covers terrestrial and freshwater habitats, is flexible enough for use in a wide range of survey types from walkover surveys of small urban sites to regional and national scale rural habitat mapping.

The classification, which includes a comprehensive Professional Edition and an abridged Basic Edition, will be a valuable tool for species and habitat research, ecological impact, ecosystem services, and biodiversity net gain assessments.

Ecology Academy News

Our popular 'Career Accelerator for Aspiring Ecological Consultants' course is back and we are ready for a brand new cohort of motivated students. This eight week online modular course kicks off on 17 October 2022 and will enable students/recent graduates/career changers to take significant steps towards achieving a permanent position as an ecological consultant in the UK.

To find out more about the course, or to enrol today, please click here.

 

Don't forget that you can follow us or get in touch via our socials or at hello@ecologyacademy.co.uk: 

Website: https://training.ecologyacademy.co.uk/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ecology-academy/ 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecologyacademy 

Instagram: @ecology_academy 

Twitter: @ecology_academy 

#23 - Season Finale - Join us for a NEW season and FREE Skills Wheel Training

We are taking a well earned break in September before springing back with a brand new season in October 2022.

Thank you to all of you for listening throughout the past year (and a bit). It's time for our annual appraisal... so what did you find of most value this season and would like us to do more of in the future? What did not really resonate with you? We would love to hear from you!

You can send your feedback to us at hello@ecologyacademy.co.uk or by posting a message on one of our social media platforms - Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. Whilst you're there, why not also let us know who you would like to see as a guest on the show and why - you can even nominate yourself!

As mentioned during this short episode, we are running a FREE webinar on our popular Skills Wheel self-assessment tool. If you would like a copy of the Skills Wheel and training on how to use it, then head over to the Ecology Academy Training platform and sign up today!

Finally, we wish you well in whatever life has in store for you throughout September, whether that be going to university, job hunting, or looking forward to the end of the frantic survey season. We hope to see you back again in October as we start our new season.

Richard, and the dedicated podcast crew at Ecology Academy.

 

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Need some book recommendations? Head over to our book store where not only can you pick up some great books, but also support your local book store at the same time - it's better than that other site you're used to :-)

#22 - Big Data Analysis and the BTO Acoustics Pipeline: interview with lead scientist Stuart Newson

A not to be missed interview with Stuart Newson, lead scientist for the BTO Acoustic Pipeline, which brings cutting-edge sound identification of bats and other nocturnal wildlife to your desktop.

During the interview, Richard discusses Stuart's love for big data analysis and problem solving and his work with the BTO. We talk about his career profile as a researcher and how his desire to identify and understand what bats were in and around Norwich set him up to launch a county wide programme for the whole of Norfolk and led him to develop the BTO Acoustic Pipeline.

The Pipeline currently focuses on 34 species of European bat, but also identifies 14 small mammal species, 18 bush-cricket species and 2 moth species, where these are recorded as by-catch. 

 

Top bat detector recording tips include:

Consider the placement of your microphone -  Ideally the microphone, or detector (if the microphone is inbuilt) should be pole mounted, raised up into the bat’s flyway, and positioned at least 1.5 meters away from any flat surfaces or vegetation. The worst thing that can be done is to attach a detector, particularly if it has an inbuilt microphone to a flat surface like a tree trunk, or to try and hide the detector and microphone within or close to vegetation. This can result in acoustic mush, that is difficult to do much with by any means, particularly for some of the more cryptic species where recording quality is most critical. 

Positioning yourself near a bat roost - If recording at a bat roost, the performance of the pipeline will be considerably better if you position the bat detector directly away from emergence itself (10-15 meters away). If recording directly at emergence, the calls of bat are often elevated in frequency and are not very typical of the calls of free-flying individuals, on which the pipeline was trained. The performance of the pipeline is also likely to be reduced if recording is carried out inside a bat roost. In this situation, echolocation calls are often atypically short in duration (in extreme clutter), a broad range of social calls are often produced in this situation that are not encountered outside a roost, and the recordings can often be distorted, and or otherwise of poor quality. 

Chose your file type to suit the purpose of your survey - It is also recommended that you do not convert full spectrum recordings to zero-crossing before auditing the recordings / results. This is most likely to be done by bat workers who have used zero-crossing in the past, but it will result in a significant proportion of recordings that would have be assigned to species, being missed. It may also introduce biases in your data, which could influence your interpretation, which I will explain with an example. Suppose that bat recording is carried out at two locations, where there is similar level of barbastelle (Barbastella barbastellus) activity. However, at one location, there is also high bushcricket activity. The pipeline is efficient at finding weak barbastelle calls in noisy recordings like this, so based on the pipeline, the activity of barbastelle according to the pipeline should be similar. However, when the recordings are converted to zerocrossing, the barbastelle calls may be lost where there are noisy bush-crickets. This example highlights why converting full spectrum recordings to zero-crossing for auditing should be avoided, and that it has the potential to result in an incorrect interpretation.

Standardise your bat detector settings - Bat detectors are increasingly moving toward embedding metadata associated with e.g. the recording location, date and time in the wav file, using GUANO Metadata, which is a universal, extensible, open metadata format for bat acoustic recordings. It is important that wav files are named as described Bat detector file settings.

Standardise your length of recordings/calls - Lastly, and specific to the pipeline we recommend that bat detector settings are used that define the maximum wav file length to be 5 seconds. 5 seconds is the optimum for the pipeline to be able to identify multiple species in a recording. Longer recordings can be uploaded and will be processed by the pipeline, but it is important to understand that long recordings are split automatically by the desktop app into 5 second sections before they are processed. Note that the desktop app provides the option for the user to save a copy of the wav files as they will be processed, so including split wav files.

 

 

Stuart Newson Bio:

Senior Research Ecologist  in the Population Modelling and Ecology Research Team with the British Trust for Ornithology.

He’s responsible for survey design and analysis of data from large national surveys of wild bird and mammal populations. Projects include a number of collaborations involving the large-scale analyses of bat and bird survey data with UK and overseas university academics and NGO researchers.

He has been awarded the Marsh Award for Innovative Ornithology, a Member of Natural England’s Bat Expert Panel and Member of UK Avian Population Estimates Panel, a Research Fellowship on Bioacoustics, PhD and MSc supervisor and Norwich Bat Group committee member.

Whilst the core of his work has been on birds, he has a personal interest in bats and acoustic monitoring, and in particular how technology can deliver new opportunities for conservation and provide new ways to engage with larger audiences. Stuart is the lead scientist for the BTO Acoustic Pipeline, which brings cutting-edge sound identification of bats and other nocturnal wildlife to your desktop.

#21 - One Degree of Separation - an interview with Rachel Smith and Nina Baranduin from Nottingham Trent University

Richard Dodd interviews two students (Rachel Smith and Nina Baranduin) who have just completed their second year Ecology and Conservation degree course at Nottingham Trent University.

During the interview we discuss their individual reasons and decision to go to university, their experience of studying under Covid-19 restrictions, placement year opportunities and life after studies.

Richard met with students whilst delivering a six-week career accelerator programme at Nottingham Trent University between May and July 2022. Students participating on the course were either completing their second or final year at NTU.

#20 - How NOT to quit your job: what ecologists and their employers should consider to help them stay or retain great people

How NOT to quit your job: what you should consider before you leave and what managers should consider helping you stay. 

 

Quitting is hard, but for many of us we will do it at least once as part of our career journey. But how do you do it? There is no real guidebook or company policy or procedures, and there are few people you could talk with to discuss how to quit.

In this month's podcast Richard draws upon his 30+ years of experience, both as an employee and employer, to give an honest opinion of what an employee should consider before quitting and what employers should be doing to retain great people.

Employees should consider using their voice, examine their loyalty and explore alternatives; and employers must look at keeping extraordinary talent through open, honest, and frequent communication and support. 

What are your thoughts and experiences?

#19 - Fungi, zombies and the apocalypse - interview with Emma Williams

Recorded in March 2022, Richard gets to go outside and records the passionate voice of Emma Williams, the mycological advocate.

During the interview Emma introduces us to a few species we found during our time out in a damp woodland near Caerphilly, South Wales, but more importantly about why we should take fungi seriously. We get to talk about the lack of mycological surveys in planning and development surveys for ecology, why fungi matter, why we should not be burning brash and also why zombie fungi are so cool!

Contact Emma via:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emma-williams-962124197/?originalSubdomain=uk

Twitter: https://twitter.com/coalspoilfungi?lang=en-GB

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coalspoilfungi/

 

 

#18 - Personal Protected Species Survey Licences: The LOWDOWN

Richard Dodd hosts a panel discussion between UK protected species licence holders including:

• Ash Harris - Principal Ecologist / Director at Ecological Services Ltd (Torfaen)
• Grace Dooley - Head of Ecology at Environment Systems Ltd (Ceredigion)
• Tilly Tilbrook - Director at Integrated Ecological Solutions Ltd. (Bristol)
• Sarah Parkin - Ecologist at SOP Ecology and Caseworker at Scottish Natural Heritage (Dumfies & Galloway)
• Josh Courtley - Ecologist with Arbtech (Warwickshire)
• Josh Styles - Ecologist with Atkins and volunteer at Chester Zoo (Cheshire)
• Emma Scotney - Ecologist with South West Lakes Trust (Devon)
• Sue Searle - Ecology Training UK (Devon)
• Claire Munn - Head of Ecology for David Archer Associates (East Sussex)

Take away messages:

It's difficult to get a protected species licence for surveys, as there are issues finding the right learning environments: so, variety is the spice of life and you may need to consider working towards a licence as 'on the job' training, but supplement with formal and informal training (self-learning, courses, and also mentorships) and of course volunteering. Collaborate.

Do not seek out the licence as the goal, but seek out species survey competency instead! Just because you have a licence does not make you a competent ecologist. Gain the skills and experience you need and the rest should fall in place. Develop the right mindset before you commence your journey.

The current survey licensing system is different for each devolved country. There should be consistency across the SNCO's as animals and plants do not understand borders, yet a highly competent ecologist in Wales or Scotland may not 'tick all the boxes' when it comes to applying for a personal licence in England. Make sure you know what is required before applying (is it one or two references; how much evidence do you need to provide and in what format).

Companies should support their employees in obtaining licences - it makes commercial sense, so they need to get on board and give employees time off for learning and to gain experience in addition to 'on the job' training. 

Do not underestimate the value of being an Accredited Agent - it could be a gateway to get your own personal licence, but it may also make commercial sense for some niche species.