MEET THE TEAM

PROJECT TEAM

PROJECT TEAM

The Project Team manage the day to day operations of the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project. If you'd like to get in touch with any member of the team, please drop us a message on the contact page.

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.

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, Moffat Golden Eagle Festival (PT)

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.

Kirsty Innes, Communications Consultant.

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.

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