Mike Thornton
Senior Landscape Ecologist, Muir to Forth
Mike has worked in nature conservation for over 30 years in the voluntary, statutory and private sectors. As Area Officer for Scottish Natural Heritage (now NatureScot) covering East Lothian, he worked with a wide range of East Lothian land managers, including farmers, foresters and game managers.
As Riverwoods Project Manager for the Scottish Wildlife Trust, he led a team to develop a national programme of river restoration, resulting in a successful National Lottery Heritage Fund application.
Having worked for many years on nature reserves and supporting the management of statutory protected sites, he is keen to put greater emphasis on landscape scale restoration to proactively drive positive change.
Mike has been a lifelong ornithologist and ecologist, publishing several peer reviewed scientific papers throughout his career. He is an active bird recorder in East Lothian and participates in several citizen science projects. He currently sits on a number of committees for the Scottish Ornithologists Club and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM) Scottish Policy Group
