Upcoming ACAIA Events

Information about upcoming ACAIA events, other than meetings of the members, will be posted here.

If you have ideas about events you would like ACAIA to host, please reach out to us via the Contact Us page!

The views and opinions expressed by Speaker Series presenters are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of ACAIA, its directors or staff, or any other member of ACAIA.

COMING UP: Tuesday, November 4th, 2025, 10:00 am Atlantic:  Dr Grant Humphries

Offshore windfarm ornithology: Getting the right data to make the right decisions

***  Tickets available NOW here  *** 

Presentation Description: 

In the European context, one of the biggest risks to obtaining approval for offshore wind farm projects is ornithology. Uncertainty around the impacts of offshore wind farms on seabirds can derail or delay projects by years. This highlights the need for the collection, collation, and curation of data appropriate for strong impact assessments. In Canada, the general species composition of seabirds is very similar to that of the UK, and thus some of the elements of the impact assessment process for ornithology, particularly the kinds of data that need to be collected, can be transferred. Here we explore the broad steps of the environmental impact assessment process for ornithology in the UK (including collision risk and displacement) and the kinds of data required for analyses. We then discuss transferability to the Canadian context and what the industry can set up now in terms of baseline data collection and curation in order to ensure the use of the best available science for impact assessment to protect Canadian natural resources.

Presenter Bio:

Dr Grant Humphries is a National Geographic Explorer and the director of Black Bawks Data Science in the UK . He has been working in the offshore wind industry for nearly a decade in the UK with a focus on analytical tools and monitoring technologies for understanding the impacts of offshore windfarms on marine life. He is the maintainer of the stochastic collision risk model toolbox which is used in the UK context for collision risk analyses, and has developed several analytical tools for the offshore wind industry. Furthermore, he has led several large projects focused on studying displacement of seabirds from offshore wind farms, with a particular focus on data accessibility. He also played a role in restructuring the Atlantic Canada Colonial Waterbird Database and the Stranded Seabird Database for the Canadian Wildlife Service.  He is from Newfoundland originally, giving him a strong understanding of issues facing Atlantic Canadians, but currently lives in the highlands of Scotland.