Our story

Dominic is an environmental and community advocate based in Peebles, with more than 20 years’ experience helping multi-disciplinary teams turn complex challenges into practical outcomes. His background spans research and development, intellectual property and project leadership, and he is focused on supporting community-led responses to social and ecological challenges. Dominic is interested in landscape resilience, stewardship, and the practical delivery of long-term benefits for people and place.

Apithanny grew up in the Scottish Borders countryside and is passionate about restoring lost hay meadows to our landscape. She is currently finishing up her PhD and works as Species-rich Grassland Officer for the charity Butterfly Conservation. Her free time is dedicated to volunteering on several environmental charity boards – but she also loves painting and writing about nature in her field journal.

David is a public law barrister with more than 20 years of experience working primarily in areas of local government, planning and housing. On learning about the UK's devastating loss of biodiversity, he became determined  to try and reverse this decline. Together with Reuben Singleton, David founded Merlindale Nature as a means of achieving that goal.

Cat is a biologist with a 30-year career as a scientist and medical writer. Returning to her native Borders in 2015, she became heavily involved in protecting her local environment, leading a grassroots campaign to save a 200 year-old woodland on the Tweed. As a Trustee of Planning Democracy, she aims to promote greater equality and fairness in the planning system to benefit our environment and people.