A new era for local Biodiversity Partnership

NESBiP

“I look forward to continuing and building upon the fantastic work the Partnership has already achieved. Being born and raised in Aberdeen, I have a very personal connection to the nature of the area and have spent the last 6 years engaging with the local community to raise awareness of the wildlife we have, even within our most urban areas. I am thrilled to be able to continue this within my new role"

The North East Scotland Biodiversity Partnership (NESBiP) is delighted to announce the appointment of Alex Stuart as their new coordinator. Previously employed by Aberdeen City Council Ranger Service in Duthie Park, Alex will bring experience of working with a wide range of stakeholders to the partnership.

Robin Pakeman, of the James Hutton Institute and chair of the Management Group of the Partnership said “There have been some recent changes at NESBiP. We welcome our new coordinator, Alex, to work with us and to take the partnership forward. Our previous coordinator, Rose Toney, has moved onto work for the Mammal Society and we look forward to Alex taking the reins.

“We also say goodbye to the Chair of the partnership, Steve Albon, who has chaired the Steering Group for the last 15 years. Our new chair is Roger Owen, formerly Head of Ecology at the Scottish Environment Protection Agency but now chair of the Aberdeenshire group of the Scottish Wildlife Trust. The Partnership would like to thank both Rose and Steve for their hard work and commitment over many years.”

Alex Stuart said: “I look forward to continuing and building upon the fantastic work the Partnership has already achieved. Being born and raised in Aberdeen, I have a very personal connection to the nature of the area and have spent the last 6 years engaging with the local community to raise awareness of the wildlife we have, even within our most urban areas.  I am thrilled to be able to continue this within my new role - working alongside local authorities, environmental groups and businesses to encourage people to promote, protect and enhance the fantastic range of wildlife we have within the North East.”

The Partnerships new Chair, Roger Owen, added: “Collaboration and co-operation with others have and will continue to be key elements of the ethos of our Partnership and the hard work and innovative approaches of our previous Coordinators have given NESBiP a prominent and innovative role both in raising the awareness of Scotland’s biodiversity and the need for every single one of us to do more to ensure that future generations still have the opportunities and benefits past generations enjoyed; even although they often took it for granted. The hard work and commitment of Partners and previous Coordinators has put the north east firmly on the biodiversity map and I intend to do all I can to ensure it stays that way”.

NESBiP, which recently celebrated in 20^th anniversary, highlights the need to protect biodiversity for its own sake and because of the benefits the environment provides to the Scottish economy. Projects are underway in Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray including practical action for wildlife in gardens, parks, school & office grounds, roadside verges and many more. These projects aim to help animals like hedgehogs and bumblebees which have suffered major declines in recent years. Others, like a local school camera trapping project, have been picked up by others and rolled out nationally.

The Partnership marked Scotland’s Year of Young People by holding the 2019 Young Wildlife Champions award. The awards recognised champions involved in all aspects of biodiversity, from celebrating wildlife through art to communicating important messages via social media, and volunteering in practical conservation action. It also recently produced a short film with acclaimed wildlife photographer Pete Cairns, the film, titled “The Wild North East – Scotland’s Natural Gem” celebrates the rich scenery and wildlife of North East Scotland.

NESBiP can be contacted at nesbip@hutton.ac.uk or interested parties can follow their latest activities on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/NorthEastScotlandBiodiversityPartnership/

Notes for Editors

The North East Scotland Biodiversity Partnership (NESBiP) is a non-profit making Partnership working to protect and promote the biodiversity of North East of Scotland on which much of our social and economic wellbeing still depends.  The Partnership includes Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray Councils along with Scottish Natural Heritage, Forestry Scotland, the Royal Society for Birds and other organisations as well as a small number of individuals.  The Coordinator’s post is funded by the partners and hosted by the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen.

Central to NESBiP’s ethos is collaboration and co-operation with other projects and, so avoiding duplication of effort and waste of very limited resources.  To celebrate its 20th birthday in 2017, NESBiP published this documentto celebrate a sample of 20 of its projects from the previous 20 years.