In 1990 I was a roads engineer with the Highland Council dealing with a number of roads built on peat. Through research I found that the countries of northern Europe had similar problems to those we were experiencing and that they were developing innovative solutions. My Fellowship allowed me to explore those in Scandinavia.

Following my Fellowship I started to implement the knowledge I had learned. The first projects involved sections of road that were sinking into peatlands and were repaired using solutions from Finland based on the use of recycled tyre bales. This led to the creation in 1998 of the EU ROADEX project between Norway, Finland, Sweden and Scotland to share information on rural roads, and this subsequently extended into Ireland, Greenland and Iceland in 2012. I became the lead for roads with peat issues.

I set up my own company, Munroconsult Ltd, in 2005 and became project manager for the ROADEX III and IV projects, producing reports concerning roads on peat and also an elearning package. I closed my company in 2019 but continue to be a consultant to the ROADEX secretariat, Roadscanners, on matters concerning roads on peat.

My Fellowship changed my life. I found that sharing solutions and transnational co-operation can work. ROADEX is testimony to that.