About Dr Tom Rose and Ecoscope-epc
(Ecoscope Environmental and Planning Consultants)
ABN 977 976 72876
Who I am
I am an environmental consultant who specialises in:
- strategic environmental advice,
- environmental management systems and planning,
- environmental impact assessments,
- environmental risk,
- incident management,
- monitoring-sampling and analysis design,
- water quality issues,
- coastal waterways, catchments, estuaries, rivers,
- a range of environmental issues crossing many aquatic, marine and terrestrial flora and fauna topics.
I am an environmental practitioner and scientist with extensive experience who has worked on a wide variety of multi-disciplinary environmental and sustainability projects. I have also worked on numerous terrestrial, planning and catchment matters. I strive to contribute practical advice and outcomes particularly those that are scientifically and technically based and when relevant, can be applied to meet operational and strategic management imperatives.,
What I believe in
I consider myself not only an environmentalist and realist, but also a person who also wants a functioning economy capable of transitioning to a new economy capable of addressing climate change, a better natural and human built environment, and, a better standard of living and way of life for the future. Because of this, I strive for practical outcomes that meet client and environmental needs. Ultimately, I want to help clients take steps towards this goal. My key Strengths are being conceptual, analytical, innovative, strategic and diligent. I enjoy identifying, developing and applying solutions to environmental and technical issues no matter how small or large they may be.
What my company wants to do – our vision and capability
Ecoscope-epc was first created in 1997 when it was registered with a friend and colleague who was also an environmental planner who is now a successful professor and Head of Discipline over east. The company didn’t trade until I resigned from Government in 2015. Since then, my vision and modis operandi for Ecoscope – epc is to provide defensible and effective environmental and technical advice. I want this advice to be directed at small landowners, community groups, political parties, State and Local government agencies and private industry, both big and small, including medium sized enterprises. My consultancy strives to provide good quality advice that meets the needs of my clients while striving to ensure the best outcome for my client, environment and the issue at hand.
I have created consortiums and worked alone to provide this service, all of which depends on the needs of my client and the scale of the work required. Recent work experience has provided the services of a small consortium of botanists, ex river manager and field operator to develop a River Action Plan on the Swan coastal plain. It has also included creating a group of marine experts, botanists and boat crew to assess a fourth-generation wave power proposal. On a personal level I have written several policies and discussion papers to protect and sensibly develop Cockburn Sound, apply a modest environmental levy to fund and undertake restoration of Cockburn Sound, an environmental offsets policy, tree protection policy for Local Government and outlined a draft construction on-site environmental protocols for development and construction of homes and apartments for a local council. I have also developed a preliminary environmental management system for restaurants with the intention of developing such systems for wineries, laboratories and trade shops (small businesses).
History and achievements
I have studied and worked on estuaries, coastal marine waters, catchments and waterways for over 30 years. I received a PhD from Murdoch University, Western Australia, where I studied food chains, fish and invertebrates comparing the nutrient enriched Peel-Harvey with the Swan-Canning. Before my PhD, I received a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and completed a Senior Thesis on how sympatric seabirds avoid competition.
I have been a Regional Manager for the Peel-Harvey region where I coordinated and managed a number of monitoring and investigation projects relating to the Dawesville Channel and Peel-Harvey rural and urban catchments, Manager for the Swan-Canning Clean-up Program including catchment management plans, Section Leader, Coordinator-Manager for the Cockburn Sound Management Council, Executive Advice and Land-use Planning Coordinator, environmental consultant, community volunteer, facilitator and environmental educator.
Some examples of my government work include when I was a Regional Manager for the Peel Inlet Management Authority when the Dawesville Channel was built and commissioned and coordinated and managed a wide range of monitoring and investigation projects in the Peel-Harvey estuary and catchment. I was Manager for the Swan-Canning Clean-up Program and its Executive Officer who successfully received over $15 million towards the Government launched Clean-up Action Plan in 1999. I was a Section Leader – Principal Environmental Officer for investigations and monitoring, emerging environmental issues and coordinated the Department of Environment’s fish kill incident program, provided advice on environmental risk and oversaw the establishment of a new automated nutrient monitoring program for the Peel-Harvey coastal catchment which was successfully integrated with the State’s water resource measurement programs. I have previously worked as an environmental consultant in WA before my government positions, as a Fishery Technician for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and California Fish and Game in the San Francisco Bay-Delta, a Senior Laboratory Technician for the California Department of Health, seasonal Assistant Microbiologist and Production Manager for Tillie Lewis Foods (Ogden Foods) and a Fire Prevention Aid for the California Department of Forestry.
I am currently writing scientific papers on zooplankton and algal drift epifauna found in the shallows of the Peel-Harvey and Swan estuaries. I am also developing a research project with several colleagues on the benthos of the Peel-Harvey, Western Australia.
Please refer to my Curriculum vitae and Resume for a more complete story of who I am, skills and experience.
Why use my services and how I quote costs
When a future client contacts me and describes the work they need, I regard these situations as unique and very dependent on issues such as timing and complexity. Consequently, costs will depend on those two variables but also on extra requirements to deliver the client’s needs. I will always clearly outline the tasks and costs associated with those to give a robust honest estimate for the services Ecoscsope-epc provides.
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is the process of assessing the likely environmental impacts of a proposal and identifying options to minimise environmental damage.