Meet the Consultant - Brady Stevens
Hi, my name is Brady听Stevens,听and I鈥檝e been with SAC Consulting for听five听years this summer. I am a Senior Consultant听in the Food & Enterprise team,听based at King鈥檚 Buildings in Edinburgh. I grew up in Western New York, USA, where I spent a lot of time around our family farmhouse in Attica. My听uncle Rick ran a dairy farm across the road, later combining with听our听neighbours to merge into a single 3,000 cow dairy听operation. Growing up around the farm and spending time in the听woods and creeks in that part of the world established my strong听attachments听to rural life听and nature.听听
After studying evolutionary biology as an undergraduate, I came to Scotland to pursue a MSc in Environmental Protection and Management at 伊人直播听where I听enjoyed听the听opportunity to dive deeper into the practicalities of addressing big global issues like climate, nature and food. I thoroughly enjoyed the course and getting to grips听with the Scottish context. In particular, the challenge of promoting integrated land use captured my curiosity: Given the diversity of landscapes and land capability for agriculture in Scotland, how can we meet the urgent needs of society, economy, and environment?听How do we balance the necessities of food production, biodiversity regeneration, carbon sequestration, and enabling people to maintain or form a听meaningful听connection with Scotland鈥檚 land?听In my role at SAC听Consulting, I have听led听projects which have allowed me to approach these complex issues听from a variety of angles:听Modelling hypothetical land use scenarios and exploring trade-offs with听communities of interest; Exploring the potential to fund听nature regeneration听projects through private or blended finance;听Contributing to听the conversation on how to听assess听and prioritise natural capital across听diverse landscapes and farming systems; and working to ensure these changes听are supported and led by Scotland鈥檚 rural communities and businesses, defraying any negative impacts and sharing equitably in the benefits.听听
Some of the projects I have worked on include听a net zero plan for the Scottish red meat industry (Quality Meat Scotland), A听University Innovation Funded听knowledge exchange project to help upskill agricultural sector stakeholders about carbon and other ecosystem service markets.听A key focus here being to explore听the opportunities and implications of carbon management for the agriculture and rural sector going forward, bringing together stakeholders across industry, research, advisory services, education, policy and the non-governmental sector.听I have also worked with听the Cairngorms National Park to understand opportunities for local estates to increase their ecosystem service delivery for climate, nature, communities and the estate enterprises themselves.听听
A recent project that听I鈥檓 proud of听was our听interim evaluation of the Nature Restoration Fund.听Alongside colleagues,听I听provided a report to the Scottish Government and NatureScot听about the progress achieved by the听Nature Restoration Fund听(NRF)听over its first three years. I visited some of the grant recipients across the Northeast and Highlands to interview them about their experience engaging with the听NRF.听It was听incredibly听inspiring to see听the great work being delivered across farming landscapes听in听these regions: By de-channelising watercourses, re-wetting wetlands and wet woodlands, slowing the flow of rivers, installing wildlife-friendly fences, and other measures, farmers are creating and enhancing rare habitat types for local species. Better still, on those sites which had been funded in early NRF rounds听(and therefore听had completed their projects a year or more before I visited), I was听shocked听at how fast听wildlife听had moved in to thrive in these new habitat areas.听Seeing practical actions like these having an impact drives my determination to contribute to reversing the decline and regenerating nature in Scotland.听听
I am grateful that听in my role听I鈥檓 able to work on issues and questions which are at the core of my personal passion and interest.听I听have had听excellent听collaborations and engagement听with the natural capital and land use teams at Scottish Government, NatureScot and other agencies,听eNGOs听such as WWF Scotland听and UNESCO Biospheres, and the breadth of other groups听driving positive change听in Scotland and the UK. I have a听tremendous听team around听me,听where I learn something new from my colleagues every day.听听
Outside of work, I enjoy getting out in these landscapes that I help to protect and shape, on my bicycle, in a rowing shell or in my walking boots.听
Brady Stevens, Senior Consultant,听Brady.Stevens@sac.co.uk听
Posted by SAC Consulting on 16/06/2026
