Overview
Terrestrial ecology services
Survey of the habitats, flora and fauna present on a site before development, and assessment of what the proposed activity would do to them.
Habitat mapping
Flora and fauna survey
Bird and protected species survey
Baseline ecological characterisation
Constraint and sensitivity mapping
Reporting for assessment input
1. ScopeAgreed in writing before fieldwork
2. SurveyField work to stated methods
3. AnalyseLaboratory and data validation
4. ReportIn the reviewer’s format
The requirement
What the regulator asks for
AuthorityNCEC To be confirmed
Usually neededBaseline ecology survey, protected species assessment, mitigation measures
Typical durationSeasonally dependent, some species surveys have survey windows
Common hold-upSurvey window missed, delaying the whole assessment by a season
Our approach
How we run it
Desk study first, then field survey timed to the species in question, then reporting that states the survey effort and conditions so the result can be assessed rather than taken on trust.
Free consultationMiss the survey window and the whole assessment waits a season.
Free consultationApplicability
Who this is for
Infrastructure corridors
Long routes cross several habitat types, and the survey has to cover all of them.
Solar and wind sites
Large footprints on apparently empty land still carry habitat and species obligations.
Quarries and mining
Rehabilitation commitments are set against the baseline recorded before extraction starts.
Questions
Common questions
When can surveys be done?
Species activity determines the window. Some can only be surveyed in certain months, which we flag at scoping.
What if protected species are found?
The finding shapes the mitigation. Discovering it early is far cheaper than discovering it at review.
Is a desk study enough?
It narrows the scope but rarely replaces field survey where a licence depends on the result.
Related services
Explore our other environmental services
Free consultation
Tell us the site and what is planned, and we will scope the work.