Darren Robbins

Programme & Commercial Manager
Tel: 01463 811655
Email: darren dot robbins at highlandbirchwoods dot co dot uk

Darren’s background is far removed from his current role as Programme / Commercial Manager at HB. Having begun his working life with Premium Bond company ERNIE, he then decided to relocate to the Highlands to become bar manager in his family’s hotel business. Darren married a local lass and a few years later upon the arrival of the first of his three children, was told it was time to get a job with normal hours! This resulted in a highly successful 10 year career in the call centre industry. With the support of his family, Darren was looking for a new challenge and found himself at HB, in his own words “an organisation with great people, and one that is genuinely delivering things that matter”. When he’s not organising the rest of us, Darren likes to go cycling with a local club, and is now referred to by his children as a MAMIL (Middle Aged Man In Lycra).

Fiona Strachan

Research & Ecology Manager
Tel: 01463 811655
Email: fiona dot strachan at highlandbirchwoods dot co dot uk

FIONA IS CURRENTLY ON MATERNITY LEAVE UNTIL JUNE 2012. Fiona has always been fascinated by wildlife and the outdoors, particularly birds. She studied Zoology at Glasgow University, including spells studying Black Guillemots in Orkney and surveying the avifauna of a cloud forest reserve in Ecuador, and went on to do a PhD in avian ecology at Sheffield University. After that, she was lucky enough to move back to the Highlands to spend three years studying the breeding ecology of Ospreys. During a field season studying golden plover on a potential windfarm site, she developed an interest in renewable energy, and joined Highland Birchwoods in 2005 as project manager of the Northern WoodHeat project. Since then she has continued to work on woodfuel, but has also returned to her ecological roots by looking after HB’s habitat management and conservation interests. Fiona is now HB’s Research Manager and is passionate about demonstrating that conservation, commercial and social interests don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time in the great outdoors with her family, pursuing the perfect chocolate cake recipe and listening to music.

Carolyn Gethin

Finance & Office Manager
Tel: 01463 811672
Email: carolyn dot gethin at highlandbirchwoods dot co dot uk

Carolyn is another incomer, moving up to the Highlands in 2005 after returning to her native mid-Wales for a year, having spent far too long studying and working in Luton. She joined HB almost immediately upon hitting the north, and is responsible for all the financial aspects of the organisation, as well as general administration and acting as Company Secretary. When she’s not buried in spreadsheets or organising wayward project managers, Carolyn enjoys long walks with her lunatic rescue dog, having deep and meaningful conversation with her rescue hens, and just generally pottering about.

Amanda Calvert

Woodfuel, Rural Development and Woodland Management
Tel: 01463 811186
Mob: 07588 594508
Email: amanda dot calvert at highlandbirchwoods dot co dot uk

Amanda originally studied Biological Sciences at Wolverhampton, upon graduation she decided that her ultimate career would be one that meant spending her time carrying out conservation work in one form or another. Following this line of thought she spent the next few years working as a volunteer across the UK. These experiences confirmed Amanda’s desire for a career in environmental education or conservation, this meant returning to education and expanding her own personal knowledge culminating in a post grad qualification to teach Biology. An experienced manager and enthusiastic teacher Amanda has run a dry stone dyking company, organised young ornithologist clubs and urban wildlife groups etc. As her own children grew, the need for stability set in and led to work in community forestry with Laggan Forest Trust, The Community Woodlands Association and Reforesting Scotland before joining the Highland Birchwoods team in 2010 to run the highly successful “Use Green Heat” project.

Ben Davies

Forestry, Woodland Management and Timber Conservation
Tel: 01463 811748
Mob: 07917 632299
Email: ben dot davies at highlandbirchwoods dot co dot uk

Ben arrived in the Highlands to study forestry and conservation at the Scottish School of Forestry in 2001, after several years spent in Taranaki on the west coast of New Zealand teaching outdoor education. After graduating he gained a range of skills by again working overseas, this time working on forest establishment in Co. Fermanagh for the Northern Ireland Forest Service, and then on to central France where he worked for the French equivalent of the Forestry Commission, doing tree condition assessments on Napoleon’s Oak Forests. Ben then returned to the Highlands of Scotland in 2008 and came to work for us as Project manager of the ’Developing the Scots Pine Resource’ project. Outside of work he spends his time pursing big waves (surfing has been Ben’s passion since childhood) on the north coast of Scotland or hurtling downhill out of control on his mountain bike.

Chris Perkins

Woodfuel and Rural Development
Tel: 01463 811611
Email: chris dot perkins at highlandbirchwoods dot co dot uk

Chris has extensive experience in rural development and countryside management. He has built mountain footpaths, led volunteers on SCP Action Breaks, worked as a Project Manager for Scottish Native Woods, run his own native woodland management company and the Loch Katrine Native Woodland project. He has an MSc in Rural Resource Planning and a MRes in Bioenergy supply chains. Chris moved from native woodland management to Highland Birchwoods to manage the “Forestry and Rural Development Scheme”. Although a self confessed native woodland nut, he works mainly with commercial woodland supply chains and is also the owner/manager of the smallest district heating scheme in Scotland!

Elaine Anderson

Ecological Survey and Project Development
Tel: 01463 811649
Email: elaine dot anderson at highlandbirchwoods dot co dot uk

Elaine’s passion for natural history and fieldwork led her to study a BSc in Ecological Science with honours in Conservation and Ecological Management at Edinburgh University which she successfully completed in 2010. She joined Highland Birchwoods the same year to assist on the ‘Developing the Scots Pine Resource’ project. Her expertise in botany and small mammal ecology specialising in badgers, bats and riparian species adds another level of knowledge to the HB team. As a passionate ecologist, Elaine loves to communicate her enthusiasm to others and volunteers with the Scottish Wildlife Trust as a Wildlife Watch Club Leader.

Ewan Purser

Geographical Information Systems and IT
Tel: 01463 811748
Email: ewan dot purser at highlandbirchwoods dot co dot uk

As Geographical Information Systems and Information Technology manager at Highland Birchwoods for over 10 years Ewan is an indispensible cog in the HB team. Our company website and its sister charity site are maintained and updated by Ewan on a regular basis. Ewan also provides the translation of our field surveyor’s notations and GPS records into perfect survey maps detailing the precise locations of birds, mammals and habitats. One day a week Ewan works for Forestry Commission Scotland where he provides GIS services for the Highland Conservancy. Ewan is also skilled in bird identification; an ornithologist from his early childhood his skills are an essential element of our bird survey work. He is also the owner of Luag (a gorgeous springer spaniel) the unofficial company ‘meet and greet’ specialist, who enjoys nothing more than being patted.

Julie Paton

Ecology, Conservation and Rural Development
Tel: 01463 811653
Mob: 07919 556952
Email: julie dot paton at highlandbirchwoods dot co dot uk

Julie studied Environmental Science & Ecology at The University of Aberdeen. Her first graduate job was in a biology laboratory but soon discovered that the white coat wasn’t for her so she pursued an outdoor career as a countryside ranger. Since then she has worked with everything from whales and worms to walkers in the areas of environmental education, as a countryside ranger and in rural development. Julie joined HB in 2009 to take up a Biodiversity project manager post but is now leading the battle against the non-native invasive Rhododendron ponticum. When she isn’t battling the ‘evil weed’ she can be found in her garden, on her bike or looking for a good tune.

William Bodles

Mountain Woodlands and Woodland Survey
Tel: 07853 277335
Email: william dot bodles at highlandbirchwoods dot co dot uk

Billy is our Mountain Woodland specialist and is at his happiest down on his knees identifying specialist montane plants, even out in the rain and with the midges. Billy initially studied Botany and then went on to do a PhD in Forestry and a post doc on diseases of Scots pines and plantation forests. He joined Highland Birchwoods in 2005 as Project Manager for the North Sea Bioenergy project and subsequently went on to run the Action for Mountain Woodland project. As an experienced provider of training courses and seminars he has successfully transferred his enthusiasm for this magnificent habitat to school children and adults. He regularly leads groups of eager volunteer plant surveyors out into the remote areas of Scotland looking for rare willows. Billy brings a high level of specialist knowledge and extensive management experience to both our ecology and woodfuel teams and a somewhat disturbing passion for long distance mountain bike marathons!

Stewart Meikle

Chair