Freshwater Environmental Consultancy
At Althea we provide professional consultancy services to help our clients protect and restore freshwater habitats and work towards the 2027 target of good ecological status in Ireland’s rivers, and lakes, as outlined under the Water Framework Directive. This includes using nature-based solutions within catchment management to benefit biodiversity, water quality and the climate. We also work in line with the Habitat Directive, advising clients on proposed plans and projects in freshwater areas to ensure that regulations and best practices are adhered to.
With experience in freshwater ecosystems across the UK and Ireland, Althea also supports community-led biodiversity conservation projects, delivering professional guidance to help protect, restore and manage river and lake environments. This includes habitat restoration work, advice on species/habitat protection requirements and creating specially curated community outreach programmes, as well as supporting the design and implementation of citizen science projects. Althea thereby helps to ensure responsible stewardship of this important natural resource.
Expert
Diatom
Analysis
As freshwater algae specialists, Althea can assess benthic diatom communities and the wider algae assemblage within rivers and lakes, providing expert analysis and identification. This includes working within legislative standards of practice in relation to sample collection, slide preparation and enumeration of the prepared diatom slides. A key indicator of nutrient enrichment in freshwater habitats, diatoms can also be indicative of other environmental stressors, such as acidity, organic pollution and sedimentation, so our in-depth assessments help clients acquire accurate information which informs decision-making and wider catchment management.
In addition to biological and regulatory metrics under the Diatom Assessment of River and Lake Ecological Quality (DARLEQ), Althea also provides interpretative reporting of metric outputs. This further informs our clients about how diatom communities are responding to various pressures, which could be overlooked by a metrics-only focused analysis.
Althea is a member of the International Society for Diatom Research, The British Phycological Society, and participates in ‘The Ring Test’ – an annual inter-calibration exercise for freshwater diatom analysts within Ireland and the UK.
