	About Us
Company Policy
Company Profile
Testimonials
Our Team
Staff Profiles
Our Clients

Our Name and Company Policy

Abel Earthcare and Abel EarthScape are trading names under Abel Ecology Pty Ltd.

We are named after Abel, who was a son of Adam and Eve. He was a farmer, commended by God the Creator as bringing an acceptable offering of the fat portions of the first born of his flocks. The Creation mandate that God gave to Adam was for Man to sustain and manage the earth as our life support system. Our task is to assist that process.

Abel Ecology deals with bushfire and ecological impact assessments.

Abel Earthcare is our bush regeneration and vegetation management service.

Abel EarthScape is our turf management service.

Company Profile

Our head office is located in the beautiful Blue Mountains near Sydney and we have a branch in Melbourne to service the needs in Victoria. We have been active in the field of environmental assessments since 1991. Our team is able to travel anywhere in NSW, Queensland and Victoria, and we have associates in regional NSW and other States. Our staff is highly qualified and experienced in a wide range of fields. Whether you need a Bushfire Assessment for a proposed development, a Seven Part Test (an assessment of impact on a threatened flora or fauna species in NSW) or advice on which is the most suitable location for a house within a development area, our team will be able to help you. We can prepare Vegetation Management Plans, give expert advice to the Land and Environment Court, or prepare a Species Impact Statement. We are able to provide advice on farm management and Farm Vegetation Plans.

The Abel Ecology team brings the following advantages to your project:

All have a personal commitment to the sustainable development of the New South Wales environment as a valuable and irreplaceable asset.

We have an involvement and an awareness of the importance of encouraging responsible and managed policies to provide environmental services while sustaining the beautiful environment that we enjoy as our own home.

Our team has a lengthy history of involvement in environmental matters, and is aware of your local and regional issues.

Our team shares a pool of expertise that is well positioned to make a success of your project.

Extensive experience in government projects in NSW for agencies including Sydney Water, DNR, DECCW, and RTA. We are consultants to government agencies on a regular basis.

We have the advantage of local knowledge and expertise, with no vested interests and therefore without the possibility of conflicts of interest.

We are used to working on commercially sensitive projects, and can assure confidentiality.

Experience in the NSW Land and Environment Court.

Insurances

Abel Ecology is covered for:

Professional Indemnity Insurance $10m
Public Liability Insurance $10m
Worker’s Compensation

Licences

Staff are licensed by DECCW and NSW Department of Agriculture for field survey work.

Pricing policy

We calculate our costs on a time basis, just like your accountant and lawyer.

When we provide a fixed quote, it is on the basis of our experience of similar work.

You pay for what you get, and good work takes time, so we don't compete on price.

We like to deliver an outcome that is right first time.

Our overheads take into account a variety of insurances and government regulations that relate to field work and animal trapping. In addition, our OH&S procedures for staff are designed to make sure that they are likely to come back, and be able to work again the next day.

Experienced staff are highly trained and earn a salary to reflect that skill level.

So, when you want good work, not cheap work, pick up the phone.

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Testimonials

"...the EMP is an excellent document … Well done, it makes our jobs much easier when we get such professional work first time." Robyn Sim, Sydney Water

"a big thanks to team and yourself... I really appreciate the extraordinary effort and dedication that your team and you provide. From a professional point of view I always look forward to your visit and working with you as I seek every opportunity to learn and apply the new skills to my job. The one thing I have come to realise is the interconnection within the environment and how important it is to get things right the first time when a development is up for consideration. Keep up the great work and the high standards you stand for." Ray Phelps, Upper Hunter Shire Council.

"...a great job on Glenn’s report. The end product is a good outcome. Please pass on my thanks and appreciation. Well done." Paul Vergotis, Solicitor, Matthews Folbigg.

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Our team

Our wide staff expertise enables us to serve a broad range of client needs.

Pick up the phone and tell us what you need.

Scientists

Dr Danny Wotherspoon, BSc, Dip Ed, MA, PhD, Director, Ecologist

Dr Daniel McDonald, BAgrSc, MAgr, PhD, Botanist

Becky Southwell, B Env Sc Man, Grad Cert Env Man, fauna ecologist

Horticulturalist

Lachlan Howe, Cert III Landscaping/Horticulture, Diploma of Horticulture (in progress)

Archaeologist

Dr Graham Knuckey - BA (Hons), Dip Ed, PhD

Administration

Annette Wotherspoon

Margot de Regt

Associates

Professor Shelley Burgin PhD - Catchment management

Toby Fiander - Hydrology, Soils, Water supply and effluent disposal, Stormwater management

Diploma of Technology in Engineering (Distinction), NSWIT (1977)
Bachelor of Engineering (First Class Honours), NSWIT (1977)
Master of Engineering Science, UNSW (1980) hydrology

Eric de Regt - BSc (Hons), MBA, MSustMgmt, Dip. Property

Graham Dowden - BSc (Biochemistry), MAppSc (Biochemistry), MAppSc (Env Sci)

Dr Colin Bale BSc (Hons) PhD - Botanist

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Staff profiles

Dr Danny Wotherspoon

Qualifications:	BSc, Dip Ed, MA, PhD, Certificate Bush Fire Management (Planning Institute NSW) Professional and scientific memberships: Ecological Society of Australia, Royal Zoological Society NSW, Ecological Consultants Association NSW Inc. (Councillor), Australian Society of Herpetologists, Environment Institute of Australia & New Zealand.
Expertise:	Bushfire, Ecology, Threatened Species management
Experience:	Professional consultant in bushfire, flora and fauna since 1991. Expert witness NSW Land and Environment Court. Currently researching Cumberland Plain Woodland as fauna habitat for a PhD at UWS Hawkesbury.
Awards:	1999 University of Western Sydney Hawkesbury Postgraduate Research Award.

Dr Daniel McDonald

Qualifications:	BAgSc, MAg, PhD
Expertise:	Botanist
Experience:	Daniel joined Abel Ecology in 2007 as a senior botanist. · His scientific work focused on plant taxonomy, plant breeding and genetics, plant reproductive biology, seed science, plant pathology and the study of plant adaptation to landscapes. Daniel has over 15 years experience in botany/plant science.

Becky Southwell

Qualifications:	B Env Sc Man, Grad Cert Env Man
Expertise:	Fauna ecologist
Experience:	Becky works with Abel Ecology as a fauna ecologist. Becky has had experience with plant identification, bird surveys and trapping small mammals. She has a strong background in bushfire and vegetation management, having served in local government, NSW Soil Conservation Service and Rural Fire Service. Becky also worked with NPWS in the wildlife inventory survey of western Sydney over five years.

Lachlan Howe

Qualifications:	Cert III Landscaping/Horticulture, Diploma of Horticulture (in progress)
Expertise:	Lawns, Landscaping and Horticulture
Experience:	Lachlan is a long time Blue Mountains resident with experience in lawns, landscaping and horticulture. He brings a broad range of skills to any project of domestic, commercial or institutional scale.

Dr Graham Knuckey

Qualifications:	BA (Hons), Dip Ed, PhD
Expertise:	Archaeologist
Experience:	Project manager of over 100 projects, involving cultural heritage field team management, and negotiation with developers and/or government organisations. Graham has built close working relationships with Aboriginal groups across Queensland, including the Yulluna, Kalkadoon, and Pitta Pitta groups, Wiri, Wakka Wakka, Karingbal, Kabi Kabi, Jinibara and Muninjali People, and the Minjerribah Moorgumpin Elders. He has worked closely with the Jagera, Ugarabul, Jarrowair (Dalby), Yuibera (Mackay), Mitakoodi (Cloncurry), Wangan and Jagalingou (Clermont) and on occasion with the Waluwarra, Bidjara (Charleville), and Janga (Mt Coolon) Peoples.

Margot de Regt

Qualifications:	Certificate Bush Fire Management (Planning Institute NSW)
Expertise:	Bushfire assessment, Office management
Experience:	Network administration since 1988. Office administration since 1978. Tender management and the generation and implementation of company standards and procedures since 1997. Bushfire assessments since July 2003.

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Our clients

Current and recent clients include:

Golf Clubs

Bonnie Doon Golf Club

Camden Lakeside Country Club

The Lakes Golf Club

Caniaba Country Club

Developers

Bovis Lend Lease

Brookfield Multiplex Construction

GHD

ICA Properties, Ryde

Paynter Dixon Constructions

Veolia Pty Ltd

Coffey International/Water Studies P/L

Penrith Lakes Development Corporation

Local Government clients

Baulkham Hills, Blacktown, Blue Mountains, Dubbo, Hawkesbury, Liverpool, Mosman, Penrith, Pittwater, Rylstone, Warringah, Wollondilly Councils.

NSW Government

Landcom

NSW Dept of Commerce

NSW Dept of Lands

NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service

NSW Roads and Traffic Authority

Sydney Water

Lawyers

Colin Biggers & Paisley

DLA Phillips Fox

Hones Lawyers

Maddocks

Matthews Folbigg Lawyers

McKees Legal Solutions

Minter Ellison Lawyers

Pike, Pike & Fenwick

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Abel Ecology Pty Ltd 2011. Trading as Abel Earthcare, Abel EarthScape and Abel Archaeology

ACN 079 079 762 ABN 72 516 253 75