(he/him)
I completed my undergraduate degree of Geography and Environmental Science (Hons) at Dundee University in 2024. In my final year there I undertook a project monitoring a river restoration site on a burn in the highlands, which got me interested in nature restoration, something I have been passionate about for as long as I can remember, from a scientific standpoint. I then took a year and a half out working. First I had an internship with River Revivers, surveying, designing and installing river restoration measures across Scotland which was invaluable experience and an incredibly rewarding job. I then started my own nature restoration company (Alba Fiadhaich) with an ecologist friend, and went head first into a trial project of reintroducing woodland wildflowers, among numerous other nature-focused projects. I look to draw on all these experiences as I move onto my PhD at St Andrews.
Surveillance of the environment: monitoring ecological restoration and biodiversity in the Scottish uplands using Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles
University of St Andrews with Dr Ian Lawson
PhD aim:
To look into the use of Unmanned Arial Vehicles (UAVs) in ecological restoration and investigate practical applications for ecological monitoring, how UAV data can be used to upscale satellite remote sensing data, and the ethics of using UAVs in the ecological sector.
PhD objectives:
- To develop new Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle Remote Sensing (UAV-RS) methods, and derived metrics, to support evidence-based biodiversity and carbon management in the Scottish uplands.
- To develop methods to combine UAV-RS with airborne- and satellite-based RS to upscale monitoring, increase monitoring frequency, and/or reduce costs.
- To analyse and make recommendations on the ethical, social, and political implications of using remotely measured and algorithmically processed metrics in environmental management.
Contact details:
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn: Alasdair Worrell
Website: St Andrews Researcher Profile
Conference presentations:
- Undergraduate thesis, Scotland’s Nature Student Conference 2024. Prize winner.