SFG 113th meeting (Autumn 2025)

The 113th SFG meeting will take place on Thursday 30 October 2025 from 10am to 4.30pm as a hybrid event, giving members the option of attending in-person at the University of Stirling (pre-registration required) or joining online via MS Teams. 

Meeting overview

The Autumn 2025 meeting will have presentations and focused discussion on Nature-based solutions for freshwater restoration. The agenda is led by SFG Guest Coordinator Alan Law (University of Stirling) with support from Kerr Adams (Scottish Freshwater Group).

Agenda: Nature-based solutions for freshwater restoration

09:15 In-person SFG meeting campus registration (prebooked Eventbrite ticket spaces only)

09:50 Online SFG meeting waiting room opens

10:00 SFG113 Welcome and introductions

  • Pauline Lang, Scottish Freshwater Group
  • Alan Law, University of Stirling

Morning session - chaired by Alan Law, with support from Kerr Adams

10:10 Lucy Daniels (University of Glasgow) Restore, Rewild, Recover: Enabling riverscape resilience through process-based restoration

10:35 Hamish Moir (cbec) and Lorraine Hawkins (River Dee Trust) Nature-based river restoration: saving salmon one tree at a time

11:00 David O'Brien (NatureScot) and Alex Miró (Highland Amphibian and Reptile Project) Nature-based solutions to restore amphibian communities in inland waters

11:25 Charlotte Neary (Forth Rivers Trust) and Ewan Lawrie (NatureScot) EU Merlin Project: Forth River case study

11:50 Chris Soulsby (University of Aberdeen & Institute of Freshwater Ecology Berlin) Are nature-based solutions for enhancing Atlantic salmon habitat restoring or ruining Scotland's rivers?

12:15 Open discussions and SFG poster presenter pitches with brief introductions (~1min each)

12:30 Lunch break and poster session with informal networking opportunities (see poster list below)

Afternoon session - chaired by Alan Law, with support from Kerr Adams

13:55 Emily Simpson (University of Stirling)  Pond-ering Carbon: The storage of sediment and carbon in beaver wetlands in Scotland

14:20 Alhassan Ibrahim (The James Hutton Institute)  Transforming economic sectors to mainstream freshwater nature-based solutions: Insights from six European sectoral strategies and communities of practice

14:45 Ronald Daalmans (Chivas Brothers)  Evaluating nature-based strategies in rural landscapes for management of low flows

15:10 Callum Dunleavy (University of Stirling)  20 years of rewilding: Beavers increase biodiversity at the landscape scale

15:35 Aiden MacCormick (SCOTLAND: The Big Picture)  Northwoods Rewilding Network: 100 ecological stepping stones across Scotland

16:00 Ian Pattison (Heriot-Watt University)  Impacts of ley farming and grazing on soil structure and water dynamics

16:25 SFG Reflections, Announcements & Meeting Close - Updates from the SFG Team

**Followed by a social drink in the Meadowpark Hotel for SFG members able to join**

Lunchtime poster presentations

  • Stephen Addy (James Hutton Institute) Assessing the hydro-geomorphic effects of large wood structures on Atlantic salmon habitat
  • Ian Pattison (Heriot-Watt University) Resilience to fluvial flooding: knowns and unknowns
  • Julia McCarthy (University of Edinburgh) Developing a monitoring framework for the Scottish Rivers Fund
  • Mahtab Yaghouti (University of Stirling) Translating climate-induced lake deoxygenation predictions into adaptive management strategies

Next meeting will be held on Thursday 23 April 2026. The plan for this key knowledge-exchange event is to proceed as a full-day hybrid SFG meeting.

 

 

 

 

SFG 112th meeting (Spring 2025)

The 112th SFG meeting took place on Thursday 24 April 2025 as a hybrid event. 

Meeting overview 

The Spring 2025 meeting supported a mix of presentations and open topic discussion connected to freshwaters. The agenda was led by our SFG Guest Coordinator Sarah Halliday (AtkinsRéalis) with support from Kerr Adams (SFG Team).

10:00 SFG112 Welcome and Introductions

  • Pauline Lang and Sarah Halliday
  • Audrey Nicoll, Member of Parliament for the Aberdeen South and North Kincardine Constituency

Morning session - chaired by Sarah Halliday, with support from Kerr Adams 

10:20 Alison Brown (University of Stirling) and Anna Doeser (UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology) – MOT4Rivers: How hydroclimatic interactions impact pollutant mixtures within the River Almond

10:50 Louise Lavictoire (Freshwater Biological Association) – When two species collide: the impact of expanding Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) populations on the freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera)

11:20 Julie Rostan (University of Aberdeen) – Creating healthy and resilient river systems across Scotland: prioritising research and development gap for river woodlands

11:50 Andrada Opris (Edinburgh Napier University) – Buzzing around SUDS: tales from the field on pollinators and sustainable urban drainage systems

12:10 SFG Poster presenter pitches with brief introductions (1 min each)

12:15 Lunch break and poster session (see poster list below)

Afternoon session - chaired by Sarah Hallday, with support from Kerr Adams 

13:45 David Bryan (University of Stirling) – Greenhouse gas emissions from Scottish agricultural ponds

14:15 Michael Farrell (The River Eden Sustainability Partnership) – Catchment and community: making the connections in the River Eden in Fife

14:45 Shaini Naha (The James Hutton Institute) – Using a detailed abstraction database to plan assessing current and future water resources availability in Scotland

15:15 François Robinne (Pacific Salmon Foundation) – Wildfire risks to water security: insights from Canada

15:45 SFG Reflections, Announcements & Meeting Close – with latest updates from the SFG Team

Lunchtime poster presentations

  • Dominique Anderson (Herriot Watt University) – Environmental stressor combinations and their impact on Rana temporaria tadpoles in UK ponds 
  • David de la Haye (University of Newcastle) – Underwater listening as a tool for engaging young people with pond life
  • Alexander Adams (University of Stirling) – Freshwater ecoacoustics in beaver-engineered wetlands
  • Lavanya Vythalingam (Herriot Watt University) – Anthropogenic stressors on freshwater biodiversity: impacts of pollutants mixtures on Rana temporaria development 
  • Jennifer Dodd (Edinburgh Napier University) - Easter Beltie River Restoration project update: results from macroinvertebrate monitoring
  • Nabeil Salama (Scottish Government) - Marine and Freshwater Areas of Research Interests

Next meeting of the Scottish Freshwater Group will be held on Thursday 30 October 2025. The plan for this key knowledge-exchange event is to proceed as a full-day hybrid SFG meeting agenda.