Landscape Science Consultancy Ltd

14/02/2020

We are actively seeking an experienced Ecologist to come and join our team. To find out more and to apply, please check out our website :)

LSC are looking for an Ecologist to join our team - for the job spec and information on how to apply, read on!

14/02/2020

We are actively seeking a Field Ecologist to join our team. Please follow the link to find out more and apply now :)

LSC are looking for a Landscape Scientist to join our team - for the job spec and information on how to apply, read on!

05/04/2019

Are you looking for a change of direction, or to progress your career within a new company? LSC are hiring an Ecologist to work from our East Midlands base on a wide range of ecological projects. We are looking for an ecologist with 2-3 years' experience and a bat survey licence (Level 1) is highly desirable.

For the job specification and details of how to apply, check out the post on our website following the link below and don't be afraid to get in touch for an informal chat if you'd like to find out any more about us, what we do, and whether the role could be a good fit!

https://www.landscapescienceconsultancy.com/…/current-oppor…

03/12/2018

During the summer, LSC ecologists were commissioned to undertake bat surveys of some large bridges where the size and extent of the structures meant that surveyors were unable to position themselves close to potential points of emergence. Our solution was to use thermal imaging cameras to record the length of the structures and watch for bats entering or leaving under cover of darkness.

The thermal imaging cameras do not need an external light source but instead rely on the infra red light emitted by the objects in view. This avoids many of the issues associated with standard infra-red video recording. We used the Flir T540 units on this project.

The bridge structures did not support roosting bats, but we did identify swifts using holes in the centre of the structures as roost sites with the birds returning at dusk - this is something we would not have been able to record without these cameras and helped us understand the constraints associated with project timeframes.

The potential of these cameras was impressive - we undertook some in-house training at a local reservoir prior to commencing the surveys and recorded the following footage of Daubenton’s bats foraging close over the water’s surface. Other potential applications would include surveys for badgers, barn owls and other nocturnal animals.

Read more on our website here! https://www.landscapescienceconsultancy.com/projects/2018/12/3/thermal-imaging-surveys-for-bats

29/11/2017

New Licensing Policies offer New Opportunities

It’s almost a year since Natural England introduced their New Licensing Policies with regards to Protected Species in the UK and we are already seeing these deliver great results for both our clients and our environment.

New Licensing Policy 1 (NLP1) is perhaps the most exciting and progressive of these changes. The wording of the NLP1 is as follows:

“Defra considers that compensation for EPS impacts can be delivered without the need to relocate or exclude populations, where: exclusion or relocation measures are not necessary to maintain the conservation status of the local population; the avoid-mitigate-compensate hierarchy is followed; and compensation provides greater benefits to the local population than would exclusion and/or relocation.”

LSC have worked with one of our key clients to successfully obtain two licences using NLP1 already, and we are currently working on four more through consultation with Natural England over the winter period.

The big gain for the environment, is that the funds which would traditionally be used for translocation of individual newts can instead be diverted into real long-term habitat enhancements for the newts and for local biodiversity in general.

The big gain we have seen for our clients is the scope to avoid the long delays which can arise through the prescriptive translocation requirements traditionally associated with a great crested newt licence. One of our key clients received Planning Permission for their scheme in early-September of this year. Under the traditional licensing model, the translocation exercise and seasonal constraints would have delayed their scheme commencement until April/May of next year at the earliest. With the NLP1 application which LSC secured, they are commencing construction works in November and will be well on their way to completion by next summer. The newt population in turn will gain new terrestrial habitats, refugia and hibernacula which will support the maintenance and growth of the colony in the future.

LSC have a proven track record with successfully securing the new NLP1 licences for our clients, and we are expanding our work in this new and exciting field of licensing. If you would like to explore how NLP1 might help get your development moving, whilst providing a real and long-lasting benefit to biodiversity, why not get in touch with LSC to discuss your scheme!

You can find out more about our NLP licence services on our website here https://www.landscapescienceconsultancy.com/nlp-licence-applications

07/09/2017

The team at LSC has three CS38 qualified climbers who also hold a Natural England licence to climb and inspect trees for bats.

We think climbing is the best way to survey trees for bats - here's a few reasons why!

https://www.landscapescienceconsultancy.com/projects/2017/9/7/tree-climb-and-inspect-surveys-for-bats-why-are-we-such-fans

LSC have three CS38 qualified ecologists who also hold Natural England bat licences which permit them to climb trees and inspect potential roost features (PRFs) for bats. We have been undertaking these surveys for over five years and have recorded inspections of thousands of trees in this ti

31/07/2017

It's great when Google Earth updates to show the mitigation schemes on the ground!

These show the before and after at one of our great crested newt mitigation sites. Prior to enhancement, the habitats were relatively homogenous semi-improved grassland. LSC designed and oversaw the habitat creation measures which included the construction of breeding ponds and hibernacula for the newts, as well as butterfly banks, marshy habitats, scrub/grassland ecotones and coppiced willow to benefit a variety of species found on the site.

You can read more about this Case Study here: https://www.landscapescienceconsultancy.com/projects/2017/4/25/ecological-support-for-jaguar-landrover

05/06/2017

Landscape Science Consultancy have had a busy newt season this year - we have conducted Phase 2 presence/absence surveys on more than 30 ponds at sites across Cambridgeshire, Staffordshire, Bedfordshire and Warwickshire as well as closer to home in Melton Mowbray.

Alongside the presence/absence surveys to inform new development proposals, we have also been undertaking monitoring surveys in accordance with the European Protected Species Mitigation Licences (EPSML) we had obtained on behalf of our clients at two previous sites. In both cases, the populations were found to be doing well, and making use of the new receptor site ponds we had designed.

LSC provide comprehensive ecology services, from the beginning to the end of a project. This begins with a scoping survey where we may identify the potential for great crested newts on a development site, through to the Phase 2 surveys which assess whether a population is present. We can then apply for an EPSML (newt licence) to permit works to go ahead, design and develop receptor sites and mitigation ponds, undertake newt translocation, provide ecological supervision during site clearance and then monitor the success of the works.

For more information on our great crested newt survey services, check out our dedicated webpage here! https://www.landscapescienceconsultancy.com/projects/2017/6/5/great-crested-newt-surveys-in-2017

26/05/2017

LSC were approached by Vale Garden Houses in 2016 to undertake building inspections on a barn in Londonthorpe, just outside Grantham.

Our surveys identified a brown long-eared roost within the barn and we subsequently undertook further dusk and dawn activity surveys to establish how the bats were accessing and using the barn in accordance with Best Practise Guidelines.

Once the surveys were complete, LSC worked with the client and their architects to design a bat loft and access features which would create a dedicated roost space within the renovated barn, without compromising the living space and aesthetics of the final layout.

Using our survey baseline and proposed mitigation solution, LSC successfully obtained an European Protected Species Mitigation Licence (EPSML) from Natural England following receipt of Planning Permission from South Kesteven LPA.

In April 2017, one of our Licensed Bat Workers attended site to supervise the roof strip to accord with the licence conditions and ensure that no bats were present before works commenced. Before proceeding with the roof strip, we climbed an adjacent beech tree to install two bat boxes to provide a safe place to translocate any bats we encountered, and ensure provision of roosting opportunities whilst building works go ahead. Once the bat loft is completed, these boxes will stay in place as enhancement measures for the local bat populations.

We will be providing ongoing support and supervision for the installation of the bat roost features through summer 2017, and will subsequently monitor its use to determine the success of the mitigation features.

Read more about bat surveys on our website https://www.landscapescienceconsultancy.com/bat-surveys-overview

17/05/2017

Our new Company Brochure outlines some of LSC's key services - visit our website to find out more!
https://www.landscapescienceconsultancy.com/

17/05/2017

New Case Study - Ecological Support for a multi-phase residential development in Bedfordshire.

This case study demonstrates what LSC do best - working with the client to develop an ecologically sensitive project through early involvement and support through to completion.

We were originally commissioned to undertake extensive habitat and preliminary Protected Species Scoping surveys in 2011. We identified where further Phase 2 surveys were required and proceeded to complete these the following summer - identifying a range of ecological receptors including a previously unidentified dormouse population.

Our input into the design of the development allowed ecology to be built right into the layout of the scheme - badger setts were retained and screened, with existing green corridors strengthened and new ones built in to ensure that the population would remain viable. Working with the client, we identified opportunities for further ecological enhancement such as the reversion of a poplar plantation to a semi-natural species composition which combined ecology and amenity. This represented a win-win scenario, preserving and protecting species and habitats whilst avoiding these representing constraints to the client when they came to develop.

We successfully produced the Ecology Chapter in the Environmental Statement (ES) ensuring that the scheme passed through Planning successfully. Now in 2017, we are engaged with Protected Species Licence work and Discharge of Ecological Planning Conditions to ensure that the housing can be constructed whilst protecting and enhancing onsite ecology.

Read more about this case study on our website here: https://www.landscapescienceconsultancy.com/projects/2017/5/17/multi-phase-residential-development-in-bedfordshire

Landscape Science Consultancy were commissioned to undertake Phase 1 Habitat and Preliminary Protected Species surveys at an area of land to the north of Houghton Regis near Dunstable in 2011. The initial survey area covered approximately 350ha with habitats including a disused chalk quarry,