Hi my name is Louise Smith and I am an upcoming PhD student with QUADRAT. I will be based at Aberdeen University within the School of Geosciences. I did both my undergrad and my postgrad in Germany to save on tuition fees. My undergrad was a BSc in Environmental and Resource Management at the BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg. During my undergrad I discovered a great interest in Ecology and corresponding fields such as conservation. My thesis was on the effects of microplastics on bivalves. Therefore, I did my postgrad in Ecology at the University of Bremen where I conducted several research projects into coastal plant conservation and biodiversity. I have been interested in historical ecology since my postgrad. The information that we can gain within this field is endless and it can help us to fill in gaps in our biodiversity knowledge as well as inform future conservation projects. The severe decline in biodiversity globally needs to be addressed. My project will hopefully show how humans have influenced the landscape hundreds of years ago and what ecosystem changes have originated from this. Additionally, it might establish a framework of how to identify landscape changes which have originated from undocumented post-medieval colonies.
QUADRAT Sponsors and Partners

Volcanic Basin Petroleum Research

Bioversity International

Centre for Environmental Data and Recording (CEDaR)

RSPB Scotland

Causeway, Coast & Glens Heritage Trust

Wildbyte Technologies

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS)

SEPA

SAERI

Northern Ireland Environment Link

CB Dennis Trust

NOAA Fisheries

JNCC

Scottish water

Syngenta

National Trust NI

SAERI Falklands Limited

NI Water

Ireland Brownfield Network

Ulster Wildlife

Forest Research Scotland

Carl Zeiss Microscopy Ltd

Loughs Agency

The R&A

Arup

National Trust

Botanaeco

Tilhill Forestry

Aberdeen City Council

National Trust for Scotland

Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar & Marine Research

NFU Scotland

Pacific Seafoods Group

Siskin Asset Management

Bumblebee Conservation Trust

Marine Scotland

Shetland Amenity Trust

3DEO

Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

DAERA

Northern Ireland Environment Agency

Belfast City Council

Ulster Farmers’ Union

National Biodiversity Data Centre Ireland

Aberdeen Harbour Board

Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

The Crown Estate

Mourne Heritage Trust

Geological Survey NI

Environment Agency

RSPB NI

James Hutton Institute

BGS

Forestry and Land Scotland

Historic Environment Scotland