The 113th SFG meeting took place on Thursday 30 October 2025 from 10am to 4.30pm as a hybrid event.
Meeting overview
The Autumn 2025 meeting featured presentations and focused discussion on Nature-based solutions for freshwater restoration. The agenda was 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
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 Hamish Moir (cbec) and Lorraine Hawkins (River Dee Trust) Nature-based river restoration: saving salmon one tree at a time
10:35 Lucy Daniels (University of Glasgow) Restore, Rewild, Recover: Enabling riverscape resilience through process-based restoration [PDF]
11:00 David O'Brien (NatureScot) and Alex Miró (Highland Amphibian and Reptile Project) Nature-based solutions to restore amphibian communities in inland waters [PDF]
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? [PDF]
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 [PDF]
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 [PDF]
14:45 Ronald Daalmans (Chivas Brothers) Evaluating nature-based strategies in rural landscapes for management of low flows [PDF]
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 [PDF]
**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 [PDF]
- 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 [PDF]
- Mahtab Yaghouti (University of Stirling) Translating climate-induced lake deoxygenation predictions into adaptive management strategies [PDF]
- Hamish Love (University of Glasgow & Forth Rivers Trust) Dam, that's good real estate! Assessing habitat suitability for juvenile Atlantic salmon on beaver-modified streams in Scotland
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.
