As the economy begins to grow and the construction industry starts to recover, here at Clarkson and Woods, we have been getting busier. The weather has been on our side so the limiting factor has been our staff numbers. In response to our ever increasing workload, we have grown and now employ 14 permanent ecologists and 2 office staff with additional temporary staff during the summer. Hannah Montag and Jo Donnelly have both been promoted to Senior Ecologists (congratulations to them) and all of our staff have been working hard day and night. This year, we have completed more than 900 hours of bat surveys!
Throughout the year, we have been working on a wide variety of projects for both the private and public sectors. These include a diverse range of projects such as sustainable energy (including wind farms and solar arrays), peat extraction and new asphalt plants as well as more traditional construction such as house building and urban regeneration. We've worked with private individuals, charities and the public sector as well as construction companies, architects and other private companies.
We're proud to have been working closely with the Eden Project in Cornwall throughout 2014 to help them establish a strategic plan for the sustainable development of their estate. We hope this partnership will continue into the future and we can support this worthwhile project for years to come. We have also provided ecological advice and services for an increasing number of solar farms, including some of the largest proposed arrays in the country. We have developed our reputation for providing sound, reliable and high quality advice on ecological matters and are continuing to lead the industry and develop our expertise as a company.
In 2014, we have developed our capacity and capability to conduct bird surveys, having taken on additional staff with expertise in bird surveying and identification and conducted training sessions with all staff to develop their knowledge. We have completed more than 50 bird surveys this year so far compared with less than 10 in 2013. We're intending to continue to build up our business in order to meet the needs of our clients and provide them with the comprehensive ecological service they require.
During 2014, we have rescued more than 500 reptiles from sites across the UK, moving them to new sites which have been specially prepared to make them an ideal habitat for the animals moved. We have also relocated 13 badger setts (including building a big artificial sett with 14 chambers). We are currently working under more than 60 European protected species licences for bats, dormice, great crested newts, water voles and badgers.
2014 has been a very exciting year and we've got lots to look forward to in 2015.
