About Us

Laura Carter-Davis is the Managing Director of Echoes Ecology and has worked with the company since 2007.  She holds a Scottish Natural Heritage licence for bats, badgers and otters, as well as being a Level One Registered Badger Worker (Scottish Badgers).  In addition, Laura is a qualified tree climber (NPTC).  Her other core strengths relate to otter, water vole and pine marten surveying.  Her duties and skills involve the management of customer deliverables and team resources, as well as the project management of more complex casework, including the production of Ecological Scoping Reports and Ecology Chapters for Environmental Statements.  Laura has substantial experience with applying for protected species licences and developing associated mitigation and compensation strategies (e.g. bats, badger and otter).

In her spare time Laura regularly takes part in canicross with her black lab Poppy (the muddier the trails, the better, according to Poppy).  Laura indulges her creative side with the art of taxidermy.

Heather Simpson (nee Ream) joined Echoes Ecology in 2013 and now acts as Principal Ecologist. To date she has been involved with a wide selection of consultancy cases relating to commercial development, as well as being experienced with the Ecological Clerk of Works (ECoW) role, as well as also being a qualified tree climber (NPTC). Heather is an experienced Phase 1, NVC, invasive species, mammal, bird, reptile and amphibian ecologist, and she holds a Scottish Natural Heritage Great Crested Newt licence, a Schedule 1 bird licence and is an accredited agent on an otter licence.  In addition she holds Natural England licences for Great Crested Newt and White-Clawed Crayfish.  Her roles within Echoes Ecology include case management, field surveying and report writing and staff development and mentoring.

Heather is a keen hill runner and spends most weekends attempting to run (let’s be honest, walk quickly) up hills whilst wishing her cocker spaniel Meg didn’t make it look so easy. She also plays the flute in the East Glasgow Concert Band.

Mingaile Anderson joined the Echoes Ecology team in 2014 after graduating from Edinburgh Napier University with an MSc in Wildlife Biology and Conservation. Prior to working for Echoes she worked on a voluntary basis for the National Trust for Scotland. To date, within Echoes, she has been involved with a wide range of protected species cases (e.g. bats, otter, badger and red squirrel), as well as assisting with NVC and Phase 1 habitat surveys. Mingaile is also involved in carrying out desk studies, case management, surveying, report writing, as well as administrative tasks. She is a certified badger surveyor (Scottish Badgers – Level One). Her other strengths include BatSound and AnaLook bat echolocation analysis. Mingaile holds an SNH Bat Roost Visitors Licence and is a named agent on Schedule 1 birds, badger and otter licences. She has also been trained to carry out eDNA surveys for Great Crested Newts.

Outside of work Mingaile can be seen dressed up as a comic-book character in some of Scotland’s Comic Book Conventions.  She also enjoys jogging while listening to Harry Potter audiobooks.

Russell returned to the Echoes team full-time in September 2018 as an Ecologist. Prior to this he worked seasonally at Echoes as an Assistant Ecologist between 2015 and 2017 and then as an Assistant Ecologist at a company in Perth.  He completed an MSc in Marine Resource Development and Protection in 2016 at Herriot-Watt University to add to skill base obtained during his BSc in Ecology.  He carries out surveys for various protected species in the UK including bats, birds, otter, badger, and water vole and has experience with carrying out Phase 1 habitat surveys.  He is also involved with project management, carrying out desk studies, writing reports, and various administrative tasks within the company.  He is a qualified Marine Mammal Observer (MMO) and has just gained his NPTC tree climbing qualification.  He is improving his skills as a bat worker to eventually obtain an SNH bat roost visitor licence.

Russell is semi-aquatic and outside of work is regularly found below sea level – he one day hopes to have gills transplanted.

Heather Campbell joined the Echoes Ecology team in 2018. Prior to working for Echoes she worked as an Ecologist and was involved with projects relating to construction and infrastructure, as well as acting as an Ecological Clerk of Works (ECoW).  She holds a Scottish Natural Heritage roost visitor and harp trapping licence for bats, as well as being a qualified tree climber (NPTC).  Her other core strengths relate to BatSound and Analook bat echolocation analysis and badger surveying. Heather is also involved in carrying out desk studies, surveying and report writing.

In her spare time, Heather regularly explores the wilderness of Scotland. She also enjoys running with her hood up listening to the Rocky theme.

Rosanna joined the Echoes Ecology team in 2018 as a Graduate Ecologist after graduating from the University of Glasgow with an MSc in Quantitative Methods in Biodiversity, Conservation and Epidemiology.  Prior to working for Echoes she worked for an NGO in Madagascar as an Assistant Research Officer.  Rosanna has also worked on a voluntary basis for Scottish Badgers and Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels.

To date, within Echoes, she has assisted with a wide range of protected species surveys for bats, badger, otter, water vole and red squirrel.  Rosanna is also involved in carrying out desk studies and report writing, as well as administrative tasks.  Her other strengths include BatSound and Analook bat echolocation analysis.  She’s just gained her NPTC tree climbing qualification and is currently working towards gaining her SNH bat licence.

Outside of work, Rosanna can be found sailing on the west coast or knitting something to keep herself warm (yes that jumper she is wearing wasn’t knitted by a wee Granny).

Neil Middleton, who originally founded the business in 2006, is a co-owner, along with Laura Carter-Davis and Heather Simpson.  Although not involved with the day to day running of the business, he is still very much a part of the Echoes Ecology team, providing valuable support as/when circumstances require.

When not working, Neil is a keen runner, plays guitar and has been known to have the occasional pale ale (but more than two is dangerous!) or glass of red wine (especially a French Syrah).

In addition to our full time team, we have a very strong and adaptive team of trained and qualified part-time seasonal employees. This team typically doubles our field survey strength during the period April to October annually, and provides us with a wide range of additional skills to our business ranging from field surveyors (including bat call analysis and the organisation of our automated bat detector systems), through to the provision of support functions (e.g. health and safety cover on remote sites).