In April we welcomed Clementine Leemans for 6 months as part of the Working With Rivers Scheme funded by Graduate Career Advantage Scotland and established in 2022 by NatureScot. Clementine will be immersed in all aspects of river restoration while working half of her time on the Kyle Riverwoods Project and half on fisheries restoration and monitoring.

Originally from Belgium, Clementine has a Masters in Conservation Biology from Lund University in Sweden where she studied the influence of moose, red, roe and fallow deer densities on woodland vegetation. Clementine also has experience in native bird conservation and invasive species control in New Zealand, further to newt, reptile, bat, badger and dormice surveys and translocations in the UK.

Since starting in early May Clementine has been getting to know the catchment and taking part in Riverwoods site surveys and planning herbivore impact assessments. She has also been mapping the extent of native riverbank woodland in each of the five main river systems flowing into the Kyle of Sutherland.

Clementine has many personal interests include hillwalking, cycling, botany and sewing.