Parnassus Ecology

I set up Parnassus Ecology at the beginning of 2017 after working 16 years as the Nature Conservation Adviser with the National Trust for Scotland. Prior to that, I worked as an Area Officer for Scottish Natural Heritage as well as being an ecologist within the Minerals and Highways Planning Team at West Glamorgan County Council, Wales.

 

This all followed an early research career working on a variety of mammal conservation projects around the world and for different organisations. This included Scottish wildcats in Ardnamurchan (Scotland), hoary bats and small mammal ecology in Canada, a houbara bustard reintroduction programme in Abu Dhabi, the impacts of agriculture and badgers on hedgehogs for the University of Oxford AFRC/WILDCRU team, WWF (Zimbabwe) (buffalo) and the Hapex-Sahel project in Niger (CO2 fluxes in vegetation).

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I have an Honours degree in Ecological Sciences (Wildlife and Fisheries Management) from the University of Edinburgh and an MSc in Environmental Impact Assessment, University of Wales, Aberystwyth, which very much reflects my interest in applied ecology. 

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I hold a summer and hibernacula bat roost licence, a great-crested newt survey licence, as well as having a sound grounding on many survey and monitoring methods. I also have extensive botanical experience, including SSSI Site Condition Monitoring, Phase 1, NVC and rare plant species surveys. I am currently using this experience to help develop new methods to survey farmland as part of the agri-environment scheme process.

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I am a great believer in good communication being the  key to solving problems and I have gained a huge amount of experience working with a wide variety of people and bodies to achieve objectives. Most recently, this has included working on sensitive roe deer management projects. At the moment, I am the Chair of the Scottish Committee of the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. In the past, I have also sat on the Standard Life Ethical Pension Policy Committee, advising on environmental issues, and on groups such as the Scottish Wildcat Conservation Steering Group and the UK Bat BAP Group.

 

I thoroughly enjoy helping others to learn new skills and I have worked closely with TCV Scotland and Project Scotland when managing bat and fungi conservation apprentices and volunteers as well as running courses on everything from wild plant identification to great crested newt surveys. I am a keen advocate in making people aware of the natural environment around them, and as such, I have done a lot of public talks, radio and TV interviews as well as writing articles for newspapers and magazines.

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Lindsay is a Full Member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management  (MCIEEM)

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Parnassus Ecology has £2million Professional Indemnity and £5million General Liability insurance cover.

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Lindsay holds a CSCS Card (Health, Safety, Environmental or Quality Related Degree)