Rare lichens, remote research and AI habitat mapping – how new technologies are making conservation more efficient.
Ecologist James Bunyan is closely examining a small patch of lichen on the dunes just outside Findhorn. That’s remarkable for two reasons: first, that some of these lichens are found in only a few other places in the world, and second, that he’s actually sitting on the Black Isle, about 50 miles away.
James, of Tracks Ecology Ltd, is using two technological advances – high resolution drone photography and GIS (Geographical Information Systems) digital mapping – to monitor the pioneering restoration experiment taking place on our dunes.
Importantly, the results have the speed, efficiency and scale that would be impossible to achieve by a human on foot.
The detail is astonishing. From an image of the Findhorn peninsula, James zooms in to show the Hinterland, then an area of gorse, then a small patch of heather, with the tiny individual flowers clearly visible. He settles on a stone, which he then measures (it’s 12 centimetres long).
In September 2024 he used his drone to photograph the area of gorse earmarked for the dune restoration project. A second drone flight in November captured baseline images of the newly cleared dune, bare sand that will hopefully over time develop the wild ecosystem that was once part of the second largest sand dune system in Europe, of which only small fragments now remain.
Repeat flights at intervals over the coming months and years will monitor the changes and progressions – literally giving us the big picture of how the site develops over time.
‘Before the advent of drones, monitoring and mapping how habitats change with precision was very difficult,’ says James. ‘Not so long ago it involved ecologists out with pencils, paper and maps, which could potentially impact delicate habitats and disturb protected species. The results could be subjective and involve significant errors. So drones and GIS make the information-gathering process that much more robust.’
This technology is particularly useful because dune habitats are mobile – the wind blows and the dunes move. This is why too much gorse becomes a problem: it stabilises the dunes, squeezing out the precious dune habitats. ‘With an aerial view we can more easily measure changes in sand dunes, where sand is accumulating, and where it’s eroding.’
- Watch the drone-flyover of the Findhorn peninsula and dunes area, immediately after the clearing of gorse.
The high resolution imagery offers another advantage: it can show exactly which vegetation is returning, and whether this dune restoration approach is succeeding in fostering the habitats and super-rare species that are critically endangered. At Heathneuk, just outside Findhorn village, the lichens are being monitored on a site that was cleared four years ago. This small area was mapped with very high resolution, with each pixel measuring 3 millimetres, allowing you to zoom in to sub-centimetre level.
(Pixels are the square blocks you see when you zoom right in on an image. The smaller the pixels – or the number of pixels in an image – the more detail you can see.)
This is where machine learning, a useful branch of Artificial Intelligence, can come into play. ‘With machine learning, we can use computers to identify species, by training them to analyse and recognise what a particular pixel is.
‘There are different ways to do this – you can either teach it to recognise objects, such as invasive species like rhododendrons, or to recognise pixels. For example, we are mapping seagrass in intertidal zones based on the differences in the colour of the sand, which show where the sea grass is. That would obviously be impossible on foot. It’s also more robust, more easily repeatable, and far quicker than on-the-ground work.’
Technology can also create 3D models of the land, as you can see in this ‘fly-through’ of the dune restoration area.
Data captured from a drone with a LiDAR sensor or optical camera can be used to create a 3D model of the landscape or object, by collecting data points mapped in three dimensions (a point cloud). The process of photogrammetry matches thousands of recognisable points in at least four separate, overlapping images. The accurate three-dimensional location of each of these points can then be calculated, with the composite of all points forming the point cloud, a 3D model.
There are other very down-to-earth benefits. The Hinterland Trust works with educational groups like the Forres Academy, and now learners can see the land’s full scale (even when it’s raining). Plus, being able to offer visible proof of habitat restoration successes at scale will be invaluable in securing grant funding for the ongoing conservation of the land.
Working with lichen expert Heather Paul, James is trialling whether machine learning can be used to map lichen in small areas – 60 by 60 metres – from the very high resolution imagery. ‘In addition to optical data, like the red-green-blue that our eyes see, we can gather multispectral info, in other words beyond the spectral range of human vision. This gives machine learning more data to train with – additional info to help with identification. This is the beginning of a journey – we may in time be able to identify if not actual species, then species types and certainly habitats.’
James is working with the Findhorn Hinterland Trust as he’s on a mission to improve the technologies used in ecological consulting and conservation. ‘This is a testing ground for new approaches and I want to get the technology understood more widely. And I believe it can really contribute to the Hinterland’s success.’
This high resolution habitat mapping, plus using GIS to also analyse and store the data gathered by others in the Hinterland Trust team, such as Neil Miekleham and Alan Watson Featherstone, creates an accurate image of what’s happening in the Hinterland right now, as well as an invaluable resource and record of the land, to be handed on through time.
- Watch slides showing the dune restoration project in geographical context. https://ion.cesium.com/stories/viewer/?id=10f78540-359d-470c-adc9-f9b31554260d
Meet the team: Laura Shreenan
A big part of the Hinterland Trust’s work is our Green Burial Ground in Wilkies Wood, right next to the Park, and Laura is a key person in the Green Burials team. The site was created when a severe storm felled a large area of trees, and now it’s a space for around 120 lairs. There is a plan to make further space available in the next year or so as this becomes necessary. Wilkies Wood also has space where celebrations can take place such as weddings and our traditional annual MayPole dance event. Please meet Laura Shreenan!
When I’m contacted for a funeral, I coordinate all the logistics with the team, including liaising with my co-coordinator Juanna Ladaga and Kajedo Wanderer and James Bryson who manage the land side and grave digging, as well as funeral directors and the family.
I’m part of a team, which I love, where we all work alongside each other and recognise our different gifts. It is wonderful to work in a team that respects each other for what we all bring.
When I saw the advert for this role with Findhorn Hinterland Trust it was an automatic ‘yes’ from me. I felt a sense of absolute alignment with who I am in this world. It was a beautiful complement, continuation and completion of my primary role at the time, being the Caring Community Coordinator and having some part to play when community folk passed away. It’s precious to be able to walk this journey with folk and to support family and friends of the deceased through a day they will memorialise for the rest of their lives. Being able to help smooth this pathway is a privilege.
I’m originally from Zimbabwe, and moved to the Isle of Man as a single parent of three boys in 2000. I met and married Colin, a Scot and we lived in Central Scotland. In 2008 we started a charity called A2Z World Without Walls and aspired to create supportive bridging between the people of Scotland and Zimbabwe. Our small grassroots funding made a significant positive impact in Zimbabwe. We were subsequently invited to join a ministerial team in Harare in 2009 and moved there permanently in 2010.
In 2016 when my father was diagnosed with a life-limiting untreatable illness we made the decision to relocate to Forres to be close to him and my Mom. They have now both passed away and are buried in Wilkies Wood. When we arrived here I began applying for jobs and was employed by CrossReach in a residential care home in Nairn. I was struck by how few people, whether relatives or indeed care workers, had any idea about end-of-life planning but serendipitously my parents lived next door to Jane Duncan Rogers and in connecting with her I was introduced to Cornelia Featherstone – both members of the community – and this is what led to me applying for the the Caring Community Circle Coordinator job that brought me to Findhorn.
My connection with nature, unsurprisingly, comes through humans. I seek treasure in people and help them to see it in themselves. So my part in this orchestra of life is people; for others it’s trees or lichen. But the ethos of the Hinterland Trust is awakening me to the wholeness of the Earth, the land, the bees, and the human. The love and connectedness of humans and nature is part of my evolution.
I’m sometimes asked if anyone can be buried here, and yes of course they can. The Green Burial Ground is not closed and isn’t exclusive to the community. It’s loved and tended by community organisations and people, but it’s open to anyone who feels drawn to a green burial. It draws people who have the same ethos and values, who then come and visit their loved ones and enjoy the Hinterland, and that’s very beautiful.
I’m very excited that together with my colleague Juanna Ladaga we will be creating and presenting two educational workshops this year where we will provide insights and information in regard to dying and death and all it encompasses. We are very pleased that Laura Pasetti of Theatre of the 7 Directions, has agreed to partner with us by presenting a short drama to illustrate the interconnected process of life, death and rebirth.
My high dream for the Hinterland Trust, or more specifically for green burials, is that we can offer more funeral director services within the community itself, so that a body needn’t be moved from the Park to a funeral home before burial if this is not wished for, as it can create a sense of disconnect for some. I wish for a purpose-built beautiful structure that allows people to remain on the land. A place where a body can rest, where people can come and conduct their own washing and dressing of their loved one if they wish, a place for final respects or viewing to be offered, and all in a time frame that works for everyone. The structure would also offer a place where we can hold an indoor ceremony if necessary, and be a venue for gathering afterwards with refreshments and for a celebration-of-life event. I can feel it, I can see it and I can believe it will happen if it is meant to be.