Phil McLean Pr.Sci.Nat.

Experience

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  Solar Water Heating

  Aug 2006 - Jan 2008

  Managing Director
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  Sunpower Solar

  Jan 2008 - May 2009

  Sales and Installation Manager

  Quoting and sales on a range of solar water heaters, then managing installations team both in preparation for, and on-site installation of solar water heaters.

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  Freelance

  Jul 2009 - Mar 2013

  Eco Tour Guide

  Freelance registered tour guide in the Cape Town area, specialising in eco-tours like hiking and birding as well as wine tours.

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  HailstormSC - Hailstorm Sustainability Consulting

  Feb 2012 - Jul 2013

  Sustainability Consultant

  Conduct Eco- or Energy-Audits (primarily for households and small businesses). Suggest and quote on remedial measures based on audit results. Manage installations of accepted remedial/renewable/sustainable alternatives. Follow-up audits or monitoring as required.Also advise architects and planners/building project managers on renewable technologies (preferably BEFORE construction) to maximise building sustianability.

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  City of Cape Town

  Mar 2013 - Mar 2014

  Invasive Species Specialist

  Working within the Invasive Species Unit of the City of Cape Town, I work under the Early Detection and Rapid Response (EDRR) section tasked with locating, mapping and responding to sightings of a range of species considered recently invasive in Cape Town. I also make contact with private landowners on who's property these species are found in order to gain access for treatment/removal which I oversee and follow-up if necessary.

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  South African National Biodiversity Institute

  Sept 2014 - Mar 2015

  Research Assistant

  Working with SANBI's Invasive Species Program (ISP) conducting Risk Assessments for listed invasive species in South Africa (according to NEM:BA). Risk assessments help to quantify the risks posed to natural environments by various invading species. This way, limited resources can be more appropriately allocated to deal with the problems.

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  Stellenbosch University

  May 2015 - Mar 2018

  MSc Student

  Update: Graduated Cum Laude!Busy undertaking my Masters Degree through Stellenbosch Universities DST/NRF Centre for Excellence in Invasion Biology (C.I.B). I am looking at the patterns and processes behind the invasion of plants within small urban centres using the Berg River Catchment as a case study.Very little work has been done worldwide on the issue of invasions in the urban space, yet most people now live in urban areas, so the issue cannot be understated. In order to inform better management, we urgently need to know where invading plants occur in the landscape, why they are where they are, and where might they distribute to. Show less

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  Western Cape Government

  Jan 2019 - now

  Working within the Pollution and Chemicals Management Directorate of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Development Planning, we invest in ecological infrastructure to improve the quantity and quality of water resources in strategic catchments within the Western Cape. The projects I manage or am involved with range from the transition of the City of Cape Town into a Water Sensitive City, through riparian alien species removal and active rehabilitation (planting), to bioremediation schemes and research bodies to investigate the scalability of using biological filtration mechanisms to treat effluent water to irrigation quality (and then growing food with it). Show less

  • Task Manager: Riparian Rehabilitation, Management and Bioremediation

    Jul 2020 - now

  • Specialist Botanist - Environmental Law Enforcement

    Jan 2019 - now