In this episode of Smart Forests Radio, we speak with Niall Burnside, Senior Lecturer in Biogeography and Geoinformatics at the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), about marine ecosystems and their connections to
Scotland
's Atlantic temperate rainforests. The conversation explores how ecological research is increasingly organised around interconnected ‘source-to-sea’ systems rather than fixed geographical boundaries. Niall walks us through the technologies SAMS deploys, such as
drones
, LiDAR,
robotics
, and AI, and how they help understand marine and forest systems as a whole. He also reflects on the educational
networks
developed through SAMS's Scientific Robotics Academy, including STEM outreach, hands-on training, and knowledge exchange with woodland communities, and their role in widening access to digital environmental technologies.
Interviewers: Jennifer Gabrys and Phoebe Hamilton Jones
Producer: Harry Murdoch
Listen on Apple and Spotify
This radio episode was produced by the Smart Forests project funded by the European Research Council. Smart Forests is led by Professor Jennifer Gabrys and is based in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cambridge.
Header image: A still from Rainforest Regeneration in Scotland: Communities and Technologies film, showing a four-wheeled SAMS (Scottish Association for Marine Science) robot operating on the coast. SAMS Robotics Academy.
Smart Forests Atlas materials are free to use for non-commercial purposes (with attribution) under a
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.
To cite this radio episode:
Burnside, Niall, Jennifer Gabrys, and Phoebe Hamilton Jones, "Niall Burnside: Monitoring Scotland's Temperate Rainforests across Sea and Land," Smart Forests Atlas (2026), https://atlas.smartforests.net/en/radio/niall-burnside. DOI: 10.17863/CAM.131087.