Boardwalks, Canada Geese, and the Easy Petrol Post Driver

At a busy Saltex Show last year we met up with Alan Scott, a trained ecologist, business owner and customer of Easy Petrol Post Driver. Alan took the time to speak to us about how his wealth of knowledge in ecology and our Post Driver came together to provide the ideal solutions for his clients. 

Starting his own business

Alan graduated University with 2 degrees in ecology and landed a job he loved in conservation. After years of hard work, he was appointed Assistant Director at a ground work trust. This was before someone asked if he wanted to run the training company for London Wildlife Trust, which required him to become freelance. Upon this change in working environment, Alan spotted a potential business opportunity. “(I) started off doing consultancy work and there was no one doing the practical work who understood wildlife. Lots of consultants would tell them what needed to be done, lots of people would know how to use strimmers, tractors and chainsaws but not anybody who knew both bits.”. From this, Complete Ecology was founded and allowed Alan to write management plans and implement them, which he still does to this day. His reputation has grown throughout the 22 years thanks to his experienced team, who, although didn’t begin as trained ecologists, have now achieved over 15 years of ecology work. Naturally, combining the two services has saved money and hassle for Alan’s clients which include The London Wildlife Trust, and councils such as Lewisham, Southwark, and Greenwich.

Nature Reserve Work

Recently, Alan has utilised his Easy Petrol Post Driver to help install boardwalks for nature reserves. “Basically, a boardwalk has got to have a platform, a structure and a sub-structure which supports the decking. We came up with the idea of using scaffold poles (for the support) and driving them in (with the Easy Petrol Post Driver) until they were just sticking out the ground.” From time-to-time, it’s been the surroundings that actually posed the challenge. “I did a boardwalk on a pond, that was great because we could drive the posts in until the marker was at the water level. And I stood in the water as it was only a couple of foot deep.” This would have been a challenging, incredibly difficult and time-consuming task without the Post Driver. Thankfully, it was made so much easier with our versatile machine.

Potential Canada Geese Work

Ever heard of Geese proof fencing? Nope, neither had we… until now! We learnt from Alan that Canada Geese pose a problem in the wrong environment, they can be aggressive to other species and damage vegetation. Fortunately, they require a runway to take-off, so it’s easy to keep them away from certain areas of land by fencing it off. As they will not land somewhere that doesn’t allow this runway. At the time of our conversation Alan was bidding for a job to fence off a small island which was becoming over-run with Canada Geese. Should he be appointed the work, he was going to use his Post Driver to make a fence around the island using Chestnut Pailing, therefore preventing the Geese from landing any more. What we love about these customer stories is uncovering the unique scenarios that our customers face, and discovering how the Easy Petrol Post Driver has been there time-and-time again to ensure the job runs as smoothly as possible.

Away from Business

Alan’s hectic work life means when it comes to resting and putting his feet up at home, he doesn’t. It’s a non-stop, action packed lifestyle. “I love walking and I like acting, I’ve done it for many years. From the Edinburgh Fringe and the Prague Fringe Festivals, as well as recently being involved in a production of Hamlet.” Like that wasn’t enough, there’s even time to squeeze in some travelling. “I went to Albania in 2018, going to Belarus this year and probably Borneo as I want to see the Orangutans.” Although Alan has never done any paid work abroad, he is always in wildlife preserves, having seen many animals including Mountain Gorillas and Chimpanzees. However, visiting Orangutans sits high on his bucket list.

Review

At the end of the catch-up, Alan took a moment to talk about the Easy Petrol Post Driver. “We’ve used 5 foot poles, sometimes 8 foot and have used 10 foot in the past… It’s running great, even now 5 years later.” We are so grateful of the time Alan took to talk to us about his business and work with the Easy Petrol Post Driver. We’re also thankful of the images he has shared with ourselves that you can find in this story. If you’d like to discover more about how Alan can help you, please visit his website www.completeecology.com

If you would like to talk to us about your own story, please contact us on info@petrolpostdriver.com or call 0114 269 9119.