CGO Ecology Ltd : Blog

The last two months have proved very busy for CGO Ecology Ltd. Normally the spring is the busiest season, but the warm autumn in 2011, and a rash of new contracts, has made for a very busy season.

CGO Ecology Ltd always welcomes opportunities to work with new clients and new projects. Our portfolio spans a wide range of sectors and industries already, including housing, schools, road infrastructure, quarrying, sustainable energy, wildlife conservation, training and education.

The email server problems that were causing bounce-backs have now been solved. If you have tried to contact us in the last few days, and received a bounce-back message, please try again. Many thanks for your patience.

Please accept our apologies, but server problems are preventing emails from reaching CGO Ecology at present. We are working on getting this fixed as soon as possible. Please try telephoning 07846 137346 instead if you want to speak to me (Chris Gleed-Owen) personally.

As the field season drew to a close in late October, far-flung places beckoned for me. With work generally fairly slack over the winter period, I prefer to use the opportunity to travel, see new places, new cultures, landscapes, wildlife, and combine this with a spot of 'continued professional development' along the way. I'm currently in Zanzibar, the famous Spice Islands off the coast of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean.

CGO Ecology has a new employee, Sarah Atkinson, who has joined us an an Ecologist on a short-term contract to work on the A338 Spur Road reptile translocation. Sarah graduated from Plymouth University in 2008 with a BSc (Hons) in Wildlife Conservation.

CGO Ecology Ltd would like to welcome a new member of staff. Mike Hobby was employed as Assistant Ecologist in mid-March 2010, and will be working with us over the coming months. He has previously worked for CGO Ecology on a self-employed basis, assisting our reptile translocation work at the Weymouth Olympics park & ride scheme in 2008. He is currently working primarily on the A338 Spur Road reptile translocation. Mike hails from Pyle in Mid-Glamorgan, South Wales.

After what has been one of the coldest and snowiest winters in the UK in living memory, spring should be just around the corner. As we move into March, the ecological consultancy calendar starts to become very full. CGO Ecology Ltd is based in Bournemouth, Dorset on the south coast of England, but works across the UK. Our immediate diary commitments include a rapidly-filling programme of springtime survey and mitigation works.

As spring approaches, at least in theory, the verges of the A338 Spur Road near Bournemouth are set to see a lot of activity. With the Christmas period over, and much of the vegetation clearance now completed, CGO Ecology has begun supervision of reptile exclusion fence installation with Dorset County Council. This is necessary before capture and removal of reptiles on the verges in the spring. The work will continue over the next few weeks along stretches of verge that are contiguous with large areas of reptile habitat such as heathland. In such areas, reptiles will keep re-colonising the verges from neighbouring land unless the temporary fencing is put in place.

As the 2009 reptile and amphibian season has drawn to a close, CGO Ecology is now concentrating its efforts on preparatory work for the coming season in 2010. The major maintenance works on the A338 dual carriageway near Bournemouth will require significant clearance works on the road verges, and installation of reptile exclusion fencing in early 2010. Reptile captures will begin in March 2010. Current lane closures are not due to reptile mitigation work. CGO Ecology is also involved in reptile mitigation projects relating to gravel extraction proposals in Ringwood Forest. Current licence applications to Natural England will determine the execution of these projects.