Zoe Whitley

Zoe Whitley I have recently graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Bsc (Hons) in Geography where I developed an interest in sustainable landuse management and GIS. During my final year, I took the initiative to obtain work experience at ‘Environmental Resource Management Ltd’, an environmental consultancy and global leading provider of environmental, health, safety, risk consulting services and sustainability related services. I’ am very keen to develop a career within environmental consultancy, utilizing the skills I gained from my work, studies and voluntary experiences. My final year dissertation was a GIS-based land suitability analysis on the opportunity for agroforestry to be practised in Scotland and provide multiple for the environment. A central point of my dissertation was the influence of policy development on sustainable land-use practice. For the work I had completed, I was awarded an internship at Ecometrica through the University of Edinburgh giving me the opportunity to further develop my dissertation. I used ArcGIS 10.3 to process the data and carry out the analysis. ‘OurEcosystem’ web-mapping platform was used to create an online interactive mapping application where users can query and compare the spatial data for specific areas of interest in Scotland. The model focuses on users who would like to apply for the Forestry Grant Scheme for woodland creation and are considering agroforestry as an option. The model determines the funding available to the user based on land-suitability and the potential benefits for biodiversity and natural flood management. The application is a proto-type model focusing on the suitability of Prunus Avium (wild cherry) in Scotland based in a silvopastoral agroforestry system. However, there is potential to further develop the application by considering other tree species

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