Team
Our highly experienced and dedicated team was set up in 2010 and specialises in hydrogeological services to the mining industry and hydrological, hydrogeological and geological advice to the renewables and infrastructure sectors in the UK. We have developed established links with a number of leading associates to offer a broader suite of professional services directly linked to the water and soil environment. We now have offices in both Edinburgh and Bristol and offer a dedicated team of field technicians that can provide high quality data efficiently and economically throughout the UK.
Duncan Saunders - Managing Director, Hydrogeologist
Duncan is a Hydrogeologist and the Managing Director of Fluid Environmental Consulting. He is based in Bristol and part time in Edinburgh and has 18 years of consulting experience in hydrogeology and water resources.
Duncan has a wide range of experience in groundwater and water resource studies in particular on large scale mining projects and renewable projects with specialist experience in the development of complex hydrogeological conceptual models combining hydrological, meteorological, geological and hydrogeological data.
Duncan has been involved in numerous hydrological and hydrogeological assessments in particular for wind farm projects for various clients from scoping through to the provision of expert witness testimony at public inquiry. This includes baseline studies, impact assessments, conceptual model development, production of construction environmental management plans and monitoring and sediment control advice.
He also specialises in the evaluation of the impacts of developments on peat and groundwater dependent terrestrial ecosystems and manages a group that determine the spatial variability of peat across sites along with quantification of the type of peat and determination of options for its reuse in conjunction with carbon assessment.
Lucy Parker - Senior Consultant
Lucy is senior environmental consultant with over eleven years of experience in environmental consultancy. She specialises in water resources, water quality, peat, geology, contaminated land, EIA and project management.
Lucy has been responsible for the design, implementation and management of site investigations and monitoring programmes for a variety of developments, due diligence assessments, divestment packages and decommissioning. Lucy is proficient at undertaking hydrological assessments for a variety of developments including wind farms, hydroelectric schemes, biomass plants, linear projects and restoration projects. She has been responsible for the design, implementation and overseeing of drainage managements plans and monitoring for a variety of construction sites. She is also specialised in peat assessments including surveys, management plans, peat slide risk assessment and peatland restoration plans.
Lucy is a senior consultant and project manager with experience in managing internal teams locally and remotely as well as sub-contractors. Lucy has a wealth of experience in both the design and practicalities of a development, its constructability, meeting planning conditions, liaising with regulators, finding solutions, and the construction process in practice.
Jero Munoz - GIS Consultant
Jero is a proficient GIS and environmental consultant with over 12 years’ experience encompassing ecology, hydrology and GIS working in research and the private sector.
Jero is skilled in the use of GIS Software combined with 3D software and CAD applications. He has considerable experience of integrating and manipulating data sources from varied sources, and application of spatial analysis. He also has considerable experience of working on large scale ecological mapping projects.
Jero has experience of working with data in many formats and sources such as Ordnance Survey digital data, Aerial photography (including orthorectification), databases, spreadsheets, GIS data from clients and manually captured data. He is a competent CAD operator and is involved in the production of many different maps and plans. GIS projects include spatial analysis, geocoding, data storage, map production and the collation of environmental information. He has extensive experience of combining GIS capabilities with 3D software for production of 3D perspective views covering and computer generated terrain models.
Josef Vanicek - Environmental Field Technician
Josef is an environmental technician with experience in field data collection and data management for peat investigations, water quality monitoring, groundwater well installations, datalogger management and soil sampling. Josef is first aid trained, an experienced mountain leader and holds a CSCS card. Josef has excellent organisation and logistic skills and is experienced with liaising with land owners and laboratories.
Associates
We work with various associates in numerous disciplines however there are some key specialists who we regularly work with who include:
Clare Wharmby – Carbon Specialist with over 16 years’ experience in environmental management, in both consultancy and academic sectors. Clare is the director of Carbon Forecast Ltd which provides climate change assessments for EIA projects. She has completed over 25 windfarm assessments across the UK using the Scottish Carbon Calculator for wind farms on peat lands, including sites where peat extraction has also taken place. She has been actively involved in Carbon Landscapes and Drainage (CLAD) Group and has input into the development of the carbon calculator from a practioner viewpoint. Clare has also delivered climate change and sustainability assessments for other large scale energy projects, including waste to energy and biomass. Clare lectures on EIA and climate change at the Scottish Rural University College and Heriot-Watt University.
John Ferry – Hydrogeology Specialist with over 30 years of experience providing strategic and detailed technical advice on the hydrogeology and hydro-ecology of development projects and operations, often large scale and rural. He is also active in land and water quality legacy issues. John has an innovative approach to and a strong interest in natural capital and ecosystem services. He has been involved in a wide range of risk and liability assessment roles and has acted as expert witness. Johns work has a strong focus on issue resolution through interaction and negotiation with Regulators, Developers Contractors and other stakeholders.
Ben and Alison Averis – Botanical Consultants, each of us with over 30 years of experience in a wide range of botanical survey and monitoring work including vegetation mapping using the National Vegetation Classification and other classifications, survey and monitoring of vegetation condition, survey and monitoring of rare species, and surveys of bryophytes (mosses and liverworts), all of this for many organisations in various parts of the UK in connection with nature conservation matters and development proposals. Ben also provides teaching on plant species identification and the classification of plant communities. Ben and Alison are among the co-authors of An Illustrated Guide to British Upland Vegetation (Joint Nature Conservation Committee, 2003) and Ben is the author of Plants and Habitats (2013).
Andy Mills – Peat Slide Specialist with over 15 years’ experience of mapping and interpreting peat geomorphology and landslides in the UK and Ireland. He was technical lead in preparation of the Best Practice Guide for the Scottish Government in relation to peat landslides and acted as lead reviewer for the Scottish Government’s contracted checking team for peat stability assessments submitted to the Energy Consents Unit as part of Section 36 applications for wind farm developments.
