bi4 Spring Issue 2021

events
design
careers
Rural
education
innovators
urged
to enter
Helping It
Happen
Awards
Bell Ingram’s Managing
Partner Mark Mitchell
is encouraging rural
businesses across Scotland
to follow in the footsteps of last
year’s winner Duffus Estate and
enter the Education category
at this year’s Helping It Happen
Awards.
The annual awards, which are
organised by rural business
organisation Scottish Land &
Estates, are free to enter and will
showcase the work done in 2020/21
by businesses, farms and estates to
help rural Scotland thrive during a
difficult year.
Bell Ingram is once again teed up
to sponsor the Education category,
won in 2020 by family-run Duffus
Estate. Judges were impressed
by the Earthtime’s Forest School
Nursery at Duffus which aims
to have the children outside for
at least 80% of the time. The
youngsters grow vegetables
which they then harvest and eat
in their own meals at lunchtime.
Earthtime was also chosen to
be an educational hub during
lockdown and provided 18 weeks
of emergency childcare provision
for 36 children of key workers or
vulnerable families.
Mark Mitchell said: “Together
Bell Ingram and Scottish Land
and Estates want to recognise
champions of rural education,
so that future generations grow
up knowing more about farming
and the countryside and what
it delivers as well as nurturing a
lifelong interest in the natural
world.
“Duffus Estate was a very worthy
winner last year and I know that
the judges are looking forward to
seeing an equally high standard
of entries this year as we celebrate
the very best initiatives across the
sector, whether on-farm, in the
classroom, or even online.”
The Helping it Happen Awards
will once again be sponsored
by GLM and this year there is a
new ‘Business Resilience Award’
category which is open to those
who have, despite the pandemic,
seen their business flourish by
adapting, being innovative and
working hard.
Sarah-Jane Laing, Chief Executive
at Scottish Land & Estates said:
“This year has been difficult for us
all. Our world leading tourism and
hospitality sector has lay dormant.
Across the rural sector businesses,
land managers and community
groups have done everything in
their power to keep their staff in
jobs and their work going in trying
times.
“That is why this year we think it
is more important than ever to
celebrate the talent, innovation,
and passion of rural Scotland. To
recognise the efforts made in the
most difficult of circumstances by
our members and others to protect
communities, jobs and nature in
rural Scotland, through the Helping
it Happen awards.
“There is no shortage of
achievements to celebrate from
Scotland’s rural businesses. We urge
people from Shetland to the Borders
to submit their entries for this year’s
awards. You can nominate yourself
or others.
“The quality of entries we receive
to the Helping it Happen Awards
is always exceptional, and we are
excited to see this year’s crop of
nominations.” n
The 2021 Helping
it Happen Awards
categories are:
● Education Award sponsored by
Bell Ingram
● Business Resilience Award
● Conservation Award sponsored
by Anderson Strathearn
● Enhancing our Environment
through Land Management
Award sponsored by
NatureScot
● Innovation in Farming Award
sponsored by Douglas Home
& Co
● Iver Salvesen Award for
Combatting Climate Change
● Rural Business Award
sponsored by Shepherd and
Wedderburn LLP
● Rural Housing Award
sponsored by VELUX
● Tourism & Visitor Management
Award sponsored by GLM
● Working with Communities
Award sponsored by The
MacRobert Trust
The awards close to entries on 4th August and winners will be announced
at a live virtual ceremony on 27th October 2021. To view last year’s winning
entries or make a nomination please visit www.scottishlandandestates.
co.uk/helping-it-happen
What can you do
with a GIS degree?
Marcus Humphrey turned
a schoolboy interest in
geography and cartography
into a successful career in
Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
and hopes his journey will inspire others
to think differently about the type of job
opportunities that exist for students with
an aptitude for geography, maths or IT.
Says Marcus: “As a relatively new
profession, GIS has been overlooked
to a certain extent when schools are
giving out careers advice. I’m glad to
say that this situation is changing and
with organisations like Ordinance Survey
actively supporting the national geography
curriculum, the profile of GIS has never
been higher.
“A variety of careers are open to those
interested in working within the GIS
sector and I’d strongly advise young
people to test the water by organising
work experience with a company like Bell
Ingram to give them a flavour of what’s
involved in the job.”
Based in our Perth HQ, Marcus joined
Bell Ingram in 2016 and heads up our
Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
department which provides mapping
expertise across the company.
After graduating BSC (Hons) in
Geographical Information Systems from
Kingston University in London, Marcus
Marcus Humphrey
Manager GIS &
Mapping Services
perth@bellingram.co.uk
worked first for BP conducting offshore
mapping before joining a data
management company mapping utilities
in London and the South East of England.
His work at Bell Ingram has a similar focus
on utilities and infrastructure projects.
Marcus continues: “I’m currently mapping
routes for new fibre optic telecoms going
into Aberdeenshire. Working alongside
land agent colleagues, my role is to
confirm land ownerships as well as the
adopted highways.
“Rural professional services companies
often have dedicated GIS departments
which can offer support to staff with
different levels of mapping expertise.
This is the case at Bell Ingram where I
work alongside colleagues whose rural
or forestry degrees included a mapping
element. While some might have
completed a basic GIS module which
gives them the confidence to produce
a location/site plan, others have more
advanced skills.”
Marcus’ love of maps continues outside
work and he enjoys sharing his knowledge
by volunteering with the Scout Association
and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
He says: “As an adult volunteer I help
young people to develop their navigation
and outdoor skills. It’s a privilege to be able
to share my knowledge and expertise, and
maybe even encourage them to consider
GIS as a potential career.”
“It’s an exciting
time to be
involved in
the geospatial
industry
thanks to the
advancement of
new technology
which is making
it one of the
fastest growing
global sectors.”
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