About Us | Restoring Upland Nature

Meet the Team

Our Staff involved in the day-to-day running of the organisation

Dr Cat Barlow

Dr Cat Barlow CEO Restoring Upland Nature Cat became Chief Executive of Restoring Upland Nature in January 2025 and leads our executive leadership team, working closely with the trustee board to deliver our charitable objectives. She has a degree in Biological Sciences from Leeds University and a PhD in Recreation Ecology from the University of Warwick, specialising in management of recreational activities in the countryside and the stakeholders / conflicts that arise from them. Cat has more than 25 years’ of experience working in the field of conservation ecology including leading the award winning South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project and Making the Most of Moorlands Project. In her spare time, Cat also monitors raptor populations including golden eagle, hen harrier, merlin, barn and short eared owls as member of the Lothian & Borders and Dumfries & Galloway Raptor Study Groups and North Solway and Borders ringing groups.

Golden Eagle Team

John Wright

John Wright, Golden Eagle Officer, Restoring Upland Nature. Responsible for the day to day care and monitoring of the eagles both in the aviaries and after release, John's role as Eagle Officer has played a vital role in the success of the south of Scotland Golden Eagle Project success. With a wealth of raptor experience, John has worked previously as Field Officer for the Rutland Osprey Project where he monitored the breeding population of Ospreys for 16 years. During Osprey translocations was responsible for the birds during their time in the aviaries and monitoring them on release. His exceptional identification skills have made him a valuable member of many projects from monitoring migrating raptors from the Straits of Gibraltar to Batumi, West Georgia (where over 1 million raptors are counted and identified each Autumn) to advising the British Birds Rare Bird Panel on challenging identifications. In the UK John has worked with many bird of prey species but has a special interest in Eagles.

Rick Taylor

Rick Taylor (Associate) Rick has headed up the Moffat Golden Eagle Festival for the last five years, helping to establish Moffat as Scotland's First and Only 'Eagle Town'. Rick works closely with the local community, businesses and education providers to offer an all inclusive event with great benefits to the locality. Rick is your primary contact for the Moffat Festival. Prior to securing a post with the Eagle Project, Rick worked with Cat on the Making the Most of Moorlands Project which aimed to re-engage local people with the uplands of the Langholm/Newcastleton Hills. In this role he also helped to monitor the local Hen Harrier, Merlin and Barn Owl population as well as other raptors in the area. Previously he has worked as an outdoor leader and environmental education teacher in a Northumbrian School, whilst volunteering for various wildlife organisations including the NWT Osprey-Watch at Kielder and training as a BTO Ringer. Rick also spends as much time as possible on the North coast of Sutherland where he assists in the monitoring of Golden Eagles and Merlin, a role he has enjoyed for the last 10 years.

Red Squirrel Team

Caroline Pridham BSc, MSc

Project Officer for the Red Squirrel Recovery Network, Dumfries and Galloway Caroline joined RUN in January 2026. Having studied agriculture, zoology and forestry and worked in conservation for over 20 years, she is now supporting the network of Red Squirrel Groups across Dumfries and Galloway and working with landowners, land-managers and communities to help increase red squirrel populations in our region. Caroline is passionate and committed to working with people to conserve and restore threatened wildlife and habitats. Based in D & G, she brings experience of project management, fundraising and community engagement. Having volunteered for many conservation and community projects, she understands how critical our network of volunteer Red Squirrel Groups are for red squirrel conservation across southern Scotland.

Rachel MacFarlane BSc

Project Officer for the Red Squirrel Recovery Network Scottish Borders, Moffatdale and Eskdale Rachel joined the RUN team as a Red Squirrel Project Officer in February 2026. Based in the Tweed Valley, she works on projects across the Scottish Borders, Moffatdale and Eskdale as part of the Red Squirrel Recovery Network. Rachel studied pharmacology at University and spent the first five years of her career working in respiratory pharmacology, where she developed strong project-management skills through coordinating research studies. Through voluntary work and role on a local red squirrel group committee, she has developed a passion for conserving our native red squirrels.

Associates

Lorna Walls

Personal Assistant to CEO and RUN Team Lorna’s role is to provide administrative support to the Chief Executive and wider team to ensure the smooth and efficient running of the charity. This enables the team and trustees to focus on their core mission to advance environmental protection by promoting the conservation and restoration of key upland species across Scotland and the rest of the UK

Kirsty Innes

Kirsty Innes, Communications Advisor Kirsty’s role underpins RUN’s commitment to transparency. She shapes clear, honest, accurate and engaging communications that reflect our work, as well as the values and voices of all partners and supporters involved. She also helps us connect with the communities and stakeholders whose support and shared-understanding is absolutely fundamental to helping us address the biggest nature-climate crisis of our time: the UK’s biodiversity decline.

Jason Dyer

Jason Dyer, Fundraising Advisor Jason is a freelance fundraising consultant based in the Scottish Borders and Fundraiser for Restoring Upland Nature. He brings more than 27 years’ experience in fundraising, including 17 years at Director level, with a strong track record across capital campaigns, trusts and foundations, major donor development, individual giving and strategic fundraising planning. His career has included leading and supporting significant fundraising campaigns and teams for organisations including Abbotsford, the home of Sir Walter Scott, Trimontium Museum, Lichfield Cathedral, The Woodland Trust, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland and a wide range of arts, heritage, community and conservation charities.

Our Trustees

Restoring Upland Nature is overseen by a Board of Trustees made up of representatives of our partner organisations, drawing on knowledge and experience from within their organisations across the UK, to guide RUN's conservation work and maximise its impact.

Michael Clarke FRAgS: Chair

Michael joined the project in early 2020 as our independent chairman. Now a full-time farmer in Dumfries and Galloway, Michael was the Chief Executive Officer for the Buccleuch Group for almost 20 years and before that, Head of the Ministry of Defence's Estates Service. Michael holds both a degree in law and in estate management. Throughout his career he has shown great commitment to supporting wildlife conservation and biodiversity. He is a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Society and is a former winner of the RSPB Scotland's Nature of Farming Award. Michael said: “The UK is facing an unprecedented nature-climate crisis, and restoration projects like ours are now more important than ever to reverse biodiversity decline. We have had incredible success in the south of Scotland thanks to the support of community, partners and funders. With enough new public donations, we can take these learnings to restore this iconic species to other areas of the UK".

Professor Des Thompson MBE,FCIEEM, FRSE

Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow, University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) With more than 30 years’ experience working in government agencies, Des is former Principal Adviser on Biodiversity and Science with NatureScot, Scotland’s Nature Agency. He worked closely with the Scottish Government devising the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy 2022-2045, and its Delivery Plan. Now a Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow with the UHI North, West and Hebrides his interests include the conservation ecology of north European shorebirds, upland ecosystems, and science-policy biodiversity decision making. He advises the UN on climate and biodiversity issues as the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) COP-Appointed Scientific Councillor for Climate Change. He is also a member of the Technical Advisory Group supporting the CMS regarding birds of prey in Africa and Eurasia (founder chair for ten years), member of the Scottish Government’s Biodiversity Programme Advisory Group, and Vice President of the Field Studies Council. He has published widely, and took his PhD and DSc from the University of Nottingham.

Professor Anna Meredith, OBE, FRCVS

Anna is a renowned Professor of Zoological and Conservation Medicine, with a lifelong passion for biodiversity conservation and animal welfare. She has over 30 years experience as a wildlife clinician, researcher, fieldworker and teacher. Awarded an OBE in 2019 for services to animal welfare and the veterinary profession, Anna also brings deep understanding of charity governance and responsibilities. She is currently a member of the Government’s Animal Sentience Committee and a trustee of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland. Find out more here: https://bit.ly/2NR6FuT

Ian Newton, OBE, FRS, FRSE

Until he retired, Ian Newton worked as an ornithologist involved in research relevant to conservation. He began his ornithological career at the University of Oxford, studying seed-eating birds, and then moved to work for the Natural Environment Research Council, studying first waterfowl and then birds-of-prey, particularly the impacts of DDT and other pesticides. For many years, he was head of pesticide and pollution research at Monks Wood Research Station near Huntingdon. He is especially interested in the factors that limit bird populations, including different forms of land-use, and has made detailed studies of various raptors. He has also been involved in several raptor reintroduction programmes in Britain and North America. Apart from his research, he has served as Chairman of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the British Trust for Ornithology and The Peregrine Fund in the USA. In addition, he is a past President of the British Ecological Society and of the British Ornithologists’ Union, and a Fellow of the American Ornithologists’ Union. He has written more than 300 papers in the scientific literature, and ten books, including Uplands and birds, reflecting his interests in both birds and land-use.

Jeff Davitt

Jeff’s career contained varied board experience in business. As he stepped back from full time employment, he discovered rewilding as a positive route to recovering nature’s abundance and diversity, bringing with it joy and hope for people. Jeff is a co-founder and trustee of the Yorkshire Rewilding Network, a young charity which brings together anyone in the region with an interest in rewilding to share experience and inspiration. This has provided him with extensive links across the north of England’s conservation and nature recovery community. Latterly he joined CreditNature, a start-up bringing ethical private finance into nature recovery where he served as Finance Director – the best role of his entire career. Improving the integrity of ecosystems – which golden eagles do – provides Jeff with hope for a thriving future for people and nature. He joined RUN as a Trustee in 2024.

Fiona Davies

A chartered accountant by training with a degree in business studies and French from the University of Edinburgh, Fiona has held a variety of different senior finance roles, with an emphasis on strategy, business planning and business efficiency. Latterly she was the finance director for the Personal, Wealth and Ulster businesses at RBS/NatWest. Since retirement, Fiona has taken up a number of trustee roles, including currently vice chair and treasurer of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, treasurer at the Edinburgh Dog and Cat Home and treasurer at Sistema Scotland. She has as served as vice chair of the Edinburgh Fringe Society and treasurer of the SSPCA.

Consultant

James Oliver

James is Group Marketing Director with Hampden Holdings Ltd. James has vast experience working in marketing, corporate networking and digital communications. He offers expert advice on financing nature-based solutions. He is passionate about finding novel ways of restoring upland nature.

Scientific Advisory Panel

A Scientific Advisory Panel provides us with expert scientific, veterinary and technical advice (particularly to ensure native wildlife health and welfare). Members also advise us on a wide range of land management and land use issues, members include;

Dr Neil Anderson (Chair), Senior Lecturer in Conservation Medicine and One Health, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh

Professor Rob Ogden (Deputy Chair), Director of Conservation Science and Head of Conservation Genetics, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh

Dave Anderson Scottish Raptor Study Group

Dr Roy Dennis OBE, Roy Dennis Wildlife Foundation

Professor Miguel Ferrer IntFRSE, Research Professor with the Spanish National Research Council

Dr Alan Fielding Research Biologist and author, with special expertise on wind farms and forestry

Gidona Goodman Lecturer in Wildlife Health and Conservation Medicine, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, University of Edinburgh

Duncan Orr-Ewing Head of Species and Land Management, RSPB Scotland, and Scottish Raptor Study Group

Dougie McKenna Senior Ecologist and Falconer, Stones Wildlife Management

Professor Anna Meredith OBE FRCVS, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences, Keele University, and Board Chair of Wildlife Vets International

Stephen Murphy Ornithologist, Natural England

Professor Ian Newton OBE FRSE FRS, Research Biologist and author, Natural Environment Research Council and University of Oxford, and Director Emeritus with Distinction, The Peregrine Fund

Lorcan O’Toole Conservation Ecologist and Author, Golden Eagle Trust Ireland

Professor Chris Quine FRSE, Research Fellow, and former Chief Scientist, Forest Research

Robin Reid Conservation Ecologist and Director, Redwing Ecological Surveys, and Scottish Raptor Study Group

Chris Rollie Ornithologist, RSPB Scotland, and Scottish Raptor Study Group

Professor Des Thompson MBE FCIEEM FRSE, Leverhulme Emeritus Fellow, Environmental Research Institute, University of the Highlands and Islands, and former Principal Adviser on Biodiversity and Science, NatureScot

Dr Ewan Weston Conservation Ecologist, Scottish Raptor Study Group

Dr Phil Whitfield Managing Director and Research Biologist, Natural Research