November 2009 - March 2022

Having helped establish the Forest of Avon Trust, I was its first Executive Director. I retired from the charity in March 2022 with long-term funding and succession plan in place.

o Leading researching, writing and consulting upon the Forest of Avon Plan: West of England Tree & Woodland Strategy, adopted by regional partners.

o Managing the delivery of £2 million woodland, landscape and social projects

o Working with other Community Forest Directors to help devise and then run Defra's Trees for Climate grant funding programme, planting (so far) over 100ha of trees

o Being England's Community Forests lead on establishing two new Community Forests

o Bringing 850ha of woodland in to formal plans and productive management

April 2005 - October 2009

o Managing the delivery of diverse woodland and related social projects, accessing and managing scarce funding from the business, charitable, Lottery, EU and public sector funding sources.

o Reporting to a senior partnership board, negotiating and establishing an independent Trust to secure the future of the Forest of Avon Community Forest.

o Working in partnership to promote and drive the green infrastructure (community forestry) agenda in the West of England.

April 2001- April 2005

o Securing diverse funding for a project programme with an annual value of £500,000 delivering strategic scale forestry; an innovative gateway project for towns; and neighbourhood landscaping and renewal projects.

May 1990- April 2001

o Researching, consulting upon and producing diverse policies for the first Community Forest plan, underpinning similar documents across England.

o As part of the delivery of the first Community Forest, securing over 750 hectares of new woodland planting, 500 hectares of conservation land management and 1,000 kilometres of improved public access through partnership working with council officers, national agencies, farmers and landowners and the voluntary sector.

Senior Planner (Landscape) December 1988- May 1990

British Waterways Posts 1985- 1988

Area Leisure Officer (North West), Project Officer (Lancaster and Leeds & Liverpool Canals), Project Officer (Lancaster Canal).

Before this, I worked for St.Helens & Knowsley Groundwork Trust and Lancashire County Council.

Academic

o Class 2 Division 1 Honours Degree in Geography; June 1982.

o Master of Science Degree in Environmental Resources; June 1985.

Professional

o Full (Chartered) Member of the Chartered Institute of Landscape Architects, since January 1993. CMLI (Landscape Management Division).

o Full (Chartered) Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute since February 2009. MRTPI.

Training/ Personal Development

I have 2 Ordinary Diplomas in business management and a member of Newcastle Speakers Club for over 4 years and left (the area) as Vice- President.

Through my career, I have been guided by the importance of trees & woodlands. I have focused on projects & initiatives which make a difference on the ground and further demonstrate the benefits of trees to people.

My professional qualifications as a Landscape Architect and Town Planner ideally complement my work experience providing a breadth of view to deliver successful, long-term tree, woodland and landscape projects.

My four most recent roles working at a senior level in community forestry had a strong collaborative dimension and demonstrate effective working with communities, councils, landowners and businesses, delivering successful projects.

Starting the Forest of Avon Trust with little more than a commitment to the cause, I built a strong profile for the charity based on delivery and impact. In hand with this, I secured significant funding and grew a reserve ensuring future sustainability.

Consultancy for diverse partners was a critical part of the funding mix for the Trust. Commissions included leading on writing and consulting on the West of England Tree & Woodland Strategy; producing planting proposals for 124 sites in Bristol; preparing the case for woodlands as part of the Bathscape HLF Landscape Partnership project; and preparing approved woodland management plans for local authorities and landowners totalling 850ha.

August 2022 -

o Leading on writing the Bristol Tree and Woodland Strategy, endorsed by Bristol City Council in September 24.

o Leading on writing the Greenwood Community Forest Plan for Nottinghamshire County Council.

o Writing the Landscape Recovery Strategy for the Lower Chew Valley for Avon Needs Trees.

o Supporting the preparation of a major landscape and nature recovery funding bid for the Forest of Avon Trust and partners.

o Working as the Woodland Trust’s MOREwoods consultant for Herefordshire and the surrounding area.