FROG conservation charity Froglife has made the leap from Glasgow to Stirling. The charity for the conservation of amphibians and reptiles says it has ‘found a new pad’ in Stirling. Previously based at Glasgow University, Froglife has moved its Scottish headquarters to Stirling University Innovation Park. This will be the new base for the charity’s Scottish Dragon Finder Project, an initiative aimed at spreading the word about amphibian and reptile conservation. The Innovation Park already provides the ‘perfect habitat’ for a number of eco-friendly charities, including the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and Grounds for Learning, which helps children connect to nature. “A major attraction for us in relocating to the Innovation Park is the potential for collaborative working,” said Scottish Dragon Finder project manager Clare Rooney. Froglife is dedicated to saving the habitats of native frogs, toads, newts, snakes and lizards. Its outdoor and indoor events include pond-dipping, reptile rummages and amphibian craft exercises.

TEAM Challenge Company, the Dunfermline-based teambuilding specialist, is investing £50,000 in new equipment for corporate family fun days after a 30 per cent increase in business bookings.

The company, which organises events across the UK for clients including AG Barr, Sainsbury’s, Heineken, Standard Life Investments and Shell, says it has seen a big increase in corporate family fun day business from companies in southern England and central Scotland. The new equipment includes a 100ft inflatable assault course complete with 30ft slide and climbing wall; an inflatable disco dome and two green screen photo-booths where guests can put themselves in front of any background in the world. Team Challenge’s activities include Soap Box Derby – where teams use cardboard boxes and other ‘raw materials’ to design, build and race their own pedal-powered go kart – and Trade to Win, where teams build and launch their own rocket 600ft into the air.

VETERAN TV news presenter Jon Snow will be in Inverness this Friday to address the annual Highland Business Dinner, which attracts the great and the good of the region’s business community.

More than 350 business leaders will attend the event – which is organised by Inverness Chamber of Commerce and sponsored by partners including Bank of Scotland and Dutch airline KLM – at the Drumossie Hotel in Inverness. A presenter of Channel 4 News since 1989, Mr Snow has covered events including the fall of the Berlin Wall, the release of Nelson Mandela, Barack Obama's inauguration and the earthquake in Haiti. “We’re absolutely delighted that Jon has agreed to be the guest speaker at this year’s Highland Business Dinner,” said Paula Nicol, events manager at Inverness Chamber of Commerce. “Guests at the 2016 Highland Business Dinner are once again guaranteed a very special evening.” Tickets for the event sold out just 24 hours after Mr Snow was announced as guest speaker.

SCOTTISH office workers spend around two days every week preparing for and attending meetings – 50 per cent more than office workers in the rest of the UK, according to new research. Across a 40 year career, this equates to three entire years of someone’s life. The research by software company eShare also showed that 36 per cent feel half these meetings are unnecessary, while 28 per cent feel they are inefficient and could be shorter. “This is a major waste of time and resource for both big and small businesses – could addressing meetings be the single biggest boost to Scottish productivity?” the company asks. eShare recently launched an app called MeetingSquared that helps people arrange meetings, create boards and committees, build agendas, invite attendees, upload documents to the agenda and record decisions. “Other areas of business have been brought up-to-date in terms of attitudes and technology, and it is high time that meetings did the same,” said Alister Esam, eShare chief executive.