Scottish Invasive Species Initiative – Privacy Notice
This Privacy Notice explains the commitment of the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative to protecting your privacy. It details how and why we collect your information, how we store it and dispose of it and your rights to control the data we hold.
- Who are we?
The Scottish Invasives Species Initiative (SISI) is a partnership project. NatureScot is the lead partner in the project and is the data controller for the personal information we process, under the banner of the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative.
In addition, each of our partners (individual fishery or river trust or boards relevant to your location), is also a data controller of your personal information and will hold and process your data using their own data protection policy.
N.B. This privacy notice relates to NatureScot as data controller for the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative. (Please refer directly to the relevant fishery or river trust or board for their privacy notice)
- Why do we collect your personal data?
We will only ever collect, store and use your personal data when we have identified purpose and reason to do so. The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) refers to this as the ‘lawful basis’. Further information about why we collect your personal data is outlined below;
- To enable you to volunteer with us
- We process your personal data so that we can administer your registration and keep in touch with you.
For example – to inform you of volunteering or other events, changes to planned activities, etc.
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- We collect personal data to facilitate your volunteering.
For example – your skills, interests, attendance, accidents and near miss reports.
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- Where you support our activities through surveying or reporting invasive species sightings to us which we collect.
For example species records (where your name is a required component of the record).
As defined by the ICO, the lawful basis for processing your data for these purposes is of ‘legitimate interest’, in that we have identified a genuine and legitimate reason for processing the data, which does not override your rights or interests.
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- To enable us to administer and manage our project
We collect your personal data to enable us to contact you where you are directly involved in hosting or allowing our activities on your land or working in partnership with us to deliver activities.
We use the ICO’s definition of “legitimate interest” for the lawful basis for processing your data for this purpose.
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- We use your personal data for sending you e-newsletters, when you have opted to receive these
This is classed as ‘direct marketing’ and we do this under the lawful basis of “Consent”.
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- For our own project reporting purposes
We will use your personal data to create summarised, anonymous datasets, which will be presented to project funders and published in public reports.
We use the ICO’s definition of “legitimate interest” for the lawful basis for processing your data for this purpose.
- How did we get your information?
Most of the personal information we process is provided to us directly by you, for one of the following reasons:
- You have enquired about becoming a volunteer
- You have registered as a volunteer
- You wish to attend, or have attended, an event
- You subscribe to our e-newsletter
- You are representing your organisation
- You are hosting or allowing our activities on your land
Data may be collected from: forms you fill out, verbal data collection and photographs, video or audio recordings.
You may have provided your data to one of our project partners, who have passed it us, as a data controller for the project.
- What kind of data do we collect?
We mostly collect your basic information (name, contact details etc). We also collect information you have provided to us to help us to get to know you better e.g. your skills, training interests etc.
- Sensitive personal data
We do not normally store sensitive personal data about you (such as health, beliefs or political affiliation). However, if you are volunteering with us we will ask you to provide us with additional personal data:
- Details of emergency contacts
- Medical / dietary information
- Criminal offence data
When registering with the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative as a volunteer, if you have indicated that you have an unspent criminal conviction, we will discuss this with you, in confidence, to enable us to make an informed decision as to whether this would impact on other volunteers or vulnerable people involved in our project.
We do not process criminal conviction or offence data, nor do we store any criminal conviction or offence data.
- How we store your data
All personal data we hold is processed by our project and NatureScot staff in Scotland. Electronic data and databases are stored on secure computer systems within NatureScot or on our Volunteer Management System which is provided by CERVIS.
In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure, we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect.
- How long do we keep your data?
Currently the Scottish Invasives Species Initiative is scheduled to close at the end of its current funding on 31 March 2026. We are seeking new funds to continue the project beyond that date but, if the project ends at that time, personal data held by the project will be anonymised (if there is a clear purpose for retaining for example in the analysis of volunteer effort) or destroyed (if there is no legitimate purpose for retaining records).
The Scottish Invasive Species Initiative has been operational since November 2017. Some volunteers active in the early years of the scheme no longer participate in the project. Where you have not been active in the project for a period of 5 years, we will retain records of your work (in terms of effort and location) but will anonymise these records. If you advise us of the wish to be anonymised before this period, we will do so.
- Sharing your information
On your registration with the project, your data will be shared with the relevant local fishery or river board or trust, who will be the provider of the volunteering or mink control activity. The partner is also a data controller and will hold this information in line with their own data protection policies.
Your data may also require be shared with government authorities and/or law enforcement officials if mandated by law or if needed for the legal protection of our legitimate interests in compliance with applicable laws. Personal data may also be shared with third party service providers who will process it on behalf of the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative for the purposes above. Such third parties include, but are not limited to, providers of website hosting, maintenance, call centre operation and identity checking.
We will not share your personal data with any other third party.
- Your rights
Under data protection law, you have rights we must you aware of.
They are –
- Privacy information
You have the right to be informed about the collection and use of your personal data, this privacy notice does that.
- Subject access
You have the right to ask us for copies of your personal information.
- Rectification
You have the right to ask us to update information you think is inaccurate or incomplete
- Right to be forgotten.
You have the right to ask us to erase your personal information
- Restrict processing
You have the right to request to limit the way your personal data is used.
- Data portability
You have the right to receive your data from us for your own purposes.
- Right to object
You have the right to ask to be excluded from marketing activity.
For more information on your rights please see the Information Commissioners’ Office
- Links to other websites
Our website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy notice. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.
- Controlling your personal information
We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which we think you may find interesting if you tell us that you wish this to happen.
You may request details of personal information which we hold about you under the Data Protection Act 2018. This information will be provided free unless the request is manifestly unfounded or excessive when a small fee will be payable.
If you would like a copy of the information held on you please write to the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative at:
Data Protection Officer
NatureScot – Scottish Invasive Species Initiative
Great Glen House
Leachkin Road
Inverness
IV3 8NW
Should you have any queries regarding this Privacy Notice, about the Scottish Invasive Species Initiative processing of your personal data or wish to exercise your rights you can contact the NatureScot Data Protection Officer using this email address: DPO@nature.scot
If you are not happy with our response, you can contact the Information Commissioner’s Office who can support and advise you on your rights and on how to make a complaint is you wish to do so.
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Last updated: April 2025