All in a day’s work - ELFHNP Officer hits the road
13 October 2009

Forest Habitat Network Officer, Ian Whitehead has been out and about over the summer months beating the green network drum at a variety of events throughout the Lothians and beyond. Activities Ian has attended have been diverse and have covered the ELFHNP area from East to West.

In East Lothian, Ian participated in the highly successful Darwin 2009 biodiversity event at Yellowcraig Beach to commemorate the 200th aniversary of Darwin’s birth. He also ran a planning workshop in association with East Lothian Council staff at John Muir House in Haddington.

In Midlothian, Ian helped to organise a workshop in association with the Scottish Rural Property and Business Association (SRBPA) for local landowners interested in developing habitat networks. He also made presentations on the Forest Habitat Network to Midlothian Council staff and the Pentland Hills Ranger Service.

The Capital City has not been neglected and in Edinburgh Ian has provided briefings for key officials at the City of Edinburgh Council, SESplan and for members of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). ELFHNP also featured heavily in the IALE (International Association of Landscape Ecologists) conference on ecological networks held at the University of Edinburgh in early September. Ian has also helped out the Edinburgh and Lothians Greenspace Trust with community events at Hailes Quarry Park and Burdiehouse Burn in the City.

West Lothian also received its fair share of attention with a highly successful event for planners and developers held in Linlithgow in association with West Lothian Council and the Central Scotland Forest Trust. This helped to set the scene for the launch of the Central Scotland Green Network (CSGN) initiative in October. Ian has actively been participating in the CSGN steering group and core working group.

Ian’s promotion work has also taken him further afield over the summer and he has raised the profile of ELFHNP at international events through presentations to the “Great Places, Great Cities” Conference in Glasgow and at the IALE European Landscapes Conference in Salzburg.

 “It can be pretty hectic at times”, agrees Ian, “but its all in a day’s work. It’s great to be able to meet so many diverse groups of people and to have the opportunity to enthuse them about the good work we are taking forward on habitat networks. What has surprised me is how interested people are already on the concept of green networks. Everyone wants to help and to understand how they can make a difference in their area. We can assist through developing and enabling projects at a local level”.

Ian will be addressing the RTPI (Royal Town Planning Institute) Scotland Conference on 10th November on the theme of integrating forest Habitat Networks into the regional development planning process.

For further information, please contact:

Ian Whitehead
Edinburgh & Lothians Forest Habitat Network Officer
Tel: 0131 654 1933
Email: ian@elfhnp.org.uk