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

Centre for Environmental Data and Recording (CEDaR)

Volcanic Basin Petroleum Research

Causeway, Coast & Glens Heritage Trust

Scottish water

Bioversity International

Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar & Marine Research

Ulster Farmers’ Union

RSPB Scotland

Carl Zeiss Microscopy Ltd

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

DAERA

Aberdeen Harbour Board

BGS

Marine Scotland

Botanaeco

James Hutton Institute

Northern Ireland Environment Agency

Wildbyte Technologies

The R&A

The Crown Estate

Tilhill Forestry

Loughs Agency

JNCC

Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

3DEO

National Biodiversity Data Centre Ireland

NFU Scotland

Ireland Brownfield Network

Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute

Belfast City Council

Arup

SAERI Falklands Limited

Historic Environment Scotland

NOAA Fisheries

Forestry and Land Scotland

NI Water

Bumblebee Conservation Trust

Environment Agency

Pacific Seafoods Group

National Trust

SAERI

Northern Ireland Environment Link

Siskin Asset Management

Ulster Wildlife

Shetland Amenity Trust

Mourne Heritage Trust

CB Dennis Trust

Aberdeen City Council

National Trust NI

Syngenta

National Trust for Scotland

SEPA

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS)

RSPB NI

Geological Survey NI

Forest Research Scotland