About the featured speakers
Dr Jill Sutcliffe
Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management
Jill is currently employed by the Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (IEEM) as their Ecological Skills Gap Project Officer.
Dr Jill Sutcliffe’s career in conservation has spanned 35 years. Much of that has been spent in environmental education as Jill enjoys communicating her enthusiasm for the natural world and plants in particular.
An early interest in plants was stimulated by her mother and grandmother who were both exceptional gardeners. An education in plants was bound to follow and Jill knew the plants of the Cornish hedgerows from an early age.
Later she undertook the botanical survey of the county of Cornwall. A summer job followed monitoring wildlife in the Outer Hebrides and Jill became hooked on all aspects of Natural History.
Since then Jill’s travels have taken her further afield including Nepal, Cambodia, New Zealand, Australia including Tasmania, the Galapagos Islands and Ecuador, Costa Rica, Canada and European destinations such as Iceland, France, Spain and Greece. She has led trips and courses for a wide range of wildlife organisations and adult education centres.
Well known for talks and walks in the Sussex area Jill also runs courses at the local Adult Education Centre. Jill worked for English Nature, now part of Natural England, as their senior Plants and Fungi specialist for almost 10 years.
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Dr Jo Reilly Head of Participation and Learning
Heritage Lottery Fund
Jo Reilly is the Head of Participation and Learning in the Policy and Strategic Development Department of the Heritage Lottery Fund. She manages a team that champions the benefits of HLF investment to individuals and communities. She leads on HLF's training and skills agenda and has managed the evaluation of the £7m Training Bursary programme.
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Christine Newton Head of school and families programme
Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew and Wakehurst Place
Christine has a background in science education and biological research. Her role at Kew is to work with the education teams at Kew Gardens and Wakehurst Place developing creative approaches to learning for school audiences and families, innovating the experiences that happen out of the classroom and that can then transfer back to the classroom; school or home environment.
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Dr Roger Key Freelance entomologist and lecturer formerly of Natural England
Roger is a freelance entomologist and lecturer, formerly senior invertebrate ecologist and then senior education officer for English Nature/Natural England (role, experience at EN/NE). His main interest these days is communicating wildlife and wild places, especially via insects and other invertebrates, to kids, students and those who work with, and influence them.
Roger has undertaken extensive TV & Radio work, mainly with the BBC, having presented invertebrate and other Natural History pieces on, among others, The Countryside Hour, Langley Country, Countyfile, the Really Wild Show, and Radio 4's Natural History Programme and Home Planet. Roger even managed to make a special appearance on 'Auntie's Bloomers'!
Click here for more information about Roger and his services.
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Jo Taylor Chair of Environmental Conservation Industry Working Group
LANTRA and Country Park Manager for Coventry City Council.
Jo grew up on and in a National Trust site that is now a national nature reserve. This ancient woodland site on the Essex Herts borders, along with the very patient staff (who he constantly pestered), had a massive influence on his life as a whole and helped shape his career.
After leaving school, he undertook a management apprenticeship in commercial horticulture specialising in historic landscapes. He has worked in several short-term contracts and voluntary positions with the National Trust and RSPB, gathering valuable experience for a full time position working in the countryside management profession.
Jo moved to the Lee Valley Regional Park as a Ranger in the late 70's and from there moved to Warwickshire. He took over as Head Ranger at Coombe Country Park in 1987. His current position is Country Park Manager for Coventry City Council.
Jo has been an active member of the Association of Countryside Rangers and the Countryside Management Association working as area rep and Chairman of a panel set up to help establish professional membership status for CMA members. He has been involved in National Occupational Standards since 1997, when he worked as the CMA representative on the Environmental Standards Reformation project, since this date he has worked on several LANTRA panels and groups. He is currently the Chairman of the Environmental Conservation Industry Group.
Click here for more information about Jo.
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Simon Roper Director of the not-for-profit Ambios Ltd
Ambios Ltd
Simon is a founding Director of the not-for-profit Ambios Ltd, a Devon based company what brings together environmental conservation organisations to access funding for wildlife and training projects in the UK, European and Central America. He is also a Managing Partner in Ambios Ecology LLP, a consultancy specialising in European Protect Species advice.
Back in the mid 1980s, after a degree in Zoology at Bristol University where he enthusiastically volunteered to radio-track urban foxes and badgers all night, Simon moved to Devon to undertake his own ecological research on rural badgers. Following this he moved to work for Devon Wildlife Trust organising their publicity before becoming Head of Communications. A spell coordinating a team of scientists undertaking a three year environmental impact assessment for an oil company working in Lyme Bay provided him with valuable project management experience. He has lead adult education visits to Poland (Białowieża) and Svalbard (Spitzbergen) and has been involved with the development of National Vocational Qualifications for Environmental Conservation many years. He has recently been involved with establishing Ambios partnerships with nature conservation NGOs in Hungary, Portugal, Spain, Poland and Norway who are either receiving or about to receive trainees from the UK.
Over the last decade, Simon has coordinated several partnerships that have accessed funding for training and development projects. These activities have provided him with a broad knowledge and skills base, which combines an understanding of wildlife conservation and adult education.
Click here for more information about Ambios.
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Mr Phil Burton Manager, LEMUR Project
Herefordshire Nature Trust
Phil is a keen botanist and environmental educator. He is at his most enthusiastic when, plant in hand, he has a willing learner to enthuse. He currently works with the Herefordshire Nature Trust, one of the 47 Wildlife Trusts, and has been responsible for their education programmes for adults and children; notably Wild-Play and the LEMUR Project, of which he is the overall LEMUR partnership lead. In the past, Phil has coordinated county-wide phase 1 habitat surveys and veteran tree surveys for Herefordshire.
Phil is a PGCE qualified teacher, vocational skills assessor who has been extremely active in teaching and inspiring all the trainees that have gone through the Herefordshire Nature Trusts learning programmes over the last 10 years. He has also written new qualifications for the environmental sector that provide competency for those who wish to develop biological assessment skills. He has ten years experience of designing and running innovative work-based training programmes that provide aspiring nature conservationists with the right level of experience and skill necessary to set them on their career pathway into the future.
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Ms Rebecca May LEMUR Trainee 2006
Becky May studied geography at Cambridge University and, having failed to get a job in the environmental sector after university, ended up working as an editor in an educational publishing company in the Lake District for four years. During this time she kept volunteering for nature conservation organisations, particularly the Leighton Moss RSPB nature reserve, where she worked one day a week. She eventually spotted an advert for the LEMUR trainee scheme and was successful in securing a place on the first cohort. Following 9 months of intensive training and on the job work experience at her host placement, Warwickshire County Council Ecology Unit, Becky was successful in securing the job of Assistant Ecologist with the County Council. Since then, Becky has continued to work in the Warwickshire Ecology Unit, increasing her knowledge and skills, and has now been promoted to Ecologist.
She continues to build on her training through a combination of formal courses, informal on-the-job training and shadowing environmental professionals, and has a particular interest in botanical surveying and identification. She now also has her great crested newt and bat licences, which she uses during her daily work as an ecologist.
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Mr Dave Lowe Principal Ecologist
Warwickshire County Council
David Lowe has led the WCC's Ecology Unit since 2004. The Ecology Unit has 9 (FTE) officers plus relief staff and volunteers within the Museum Service. We advise on WCC strategy, policy and day-to-day matters plus offering ecological advice to all Districts Authorities, Government Organisations and Non-Government Organisations and the public on a county, regional and national level.
Our roles include delivering strategic advice and reporting to the council and partners, management of the Warwickshire Biological Record Centre, supporting local recorders, planning advice to planning functions, supporting educational programmes. We also are core members of the Habitat Biodiversity Audit (Phase 1 survey for Warwickshire Coventry and Solihull), Warwickshire Coventry and Solihull Local Biodiversity Action Plan, Local Sites and Local Nature Reserve partnerships and assisting Warwickshire Police with their enquiries. To carry out this work the team is skilled in (amongst other disciplines) Phase 1 and 2 surveying, species ID, GIS MapInfo, Recorder (Version 6), Ecological Planning Legislation, Protected Species Legislation.
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Alex Scholefield Kingfisher trainee
Alex has worked as the Torbay Biodiversity Officer and Marine Education Ranger for Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust since 2006. Her current responsibilities range from taking children out on rockpool rambles to coordinating the work of the Torbay Biodiversity Action Plan and the Torbay Coastal Management Partnership.
In 2000, whilst studying for a Biological Sciences Degree at Exeter University Alex spent 3 months in Borneo studying the affects of destructive fishing techniques on the coral reefs, and working with the local fishing community to look at more sustainable fishing methods. Her time in Borneo really inspired her to pursue a career in conservation and education and this dream came true when she gained a place on the Ambios Kingfisher scheme in 2004, with Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust as a Trainee Marine Ranger. During her 9 month Kingfisher placement she gained invaluable skills and it provided her with the stepping stone for her current career in conservation. She now feels incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to work in a field that she has so much enthusiasm for.
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Steve Bradley Countryside Manager
Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust
Steve Bradley is the Countryside Manager for Torbay Coast and Countryside Trust (TCCT) an organisation responsible for the management of 1800 acres of land around the towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham in South Devon.
In the mid 1990’s Steve spent 2 years travelling around Asia which inspired him towards a career managing the natural environment. This led to a Forestry degree at Bangor University part of which was spent in Joensuu, Finland on a student exchange programme. Keen to further his knowledge of tropical forests he managed to organise a sandwich year initially working as a research assistant for the Queensland Forestry Research Institute before moving onto work for NGO Global Witness in Cambodia as a Forest Crime Investigator.
After graduating Steve took up a placement as a trainee ranger at TCCT on the Ambios Skylark scheme. He then worked as an Assistant Forest Manager for Tilhill Forestry where he was primarily responsible for creating new native woodlands on farm properties across the South West and running a maintenance contract foThursday December 10, 2009Ranger with Teignbridge District Council in Newton Abbot, Steve took up his current role with as Countryside Manager at TCCT in 2005. He manages a team of countryside rangers, grounds staff and gardeners.Thursday December 10, 2009 calcareous grasslands which involves scrub clearance using rope access equipment on steep coastal sites.
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Lewis Goldwater Lemur trainee
National Nature Reserve (NNR) Warden, Natural England
I began my career in the Defence Industry, having studied to postgraduate level for four years, in aerospace engineering. After graduating I went on to work for over six years for BAE SYSTEMS and 3 years for Thales Underwater Systems in the north of England.
During that time I developed an interest in environmental conservation, spending much of my spare time and holidays, volunteering with practical conservation projects and tasks, locally, across the UK and abroad. After moving to Derbyshire in 2002, I became actively involved with the Peak District National Park, training and qualifying as a patrol ranger (a role in which I continue to this day) and assisting with the Moors for the Future project, as a moorland surveyor.
I relocated with my wife to Herefordshire in 2006, deciding then to pursue my enthusiasm for environmental conservation as a full time career. I spent the next year volunteering with many organisations including Natural England, Herefordshire Nature Trust, the Brecon Beacons National Park, the National Trust and others. In 2008 I was fortunate to be offered a heritage trainee placement on the LEMUR project, working for the Herefordshire Nature Trust in their Reserves Department. After completing my placement with project LEMUR, I was accepted to the position of National Nature Reserve (NNR) Warden, working for Natural England, on the Herefordshire and Worcestershire NNRs.
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Ian Tanner Ecological Consultant
Ecoline
Ian Tanner took up his first full time ecological post in Scotland running one of the Scottish Wildlife Trust survey teams. The post combined a strong element of training delivery within the context of a large scale Phase 1 habitat survey of Ayrshire. Ian built on this early experiences by moving down to Warwickshire in 1995 to run another large scale survey project which included the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) so that the whole of the 2,500 square kilometres of the area could be stitched together into one single electronic map.
Outside work, Ian's interest in nature conservation went beyond habitats and plant identification. In Scotland he set up the Ayrshire Bat Group and re-established the Lanarkshire Bat Group, training up a host of people so that they could hold bat licenses. He also maintained an interest in amphibians and reptiles and recorded adders from a number of Ayrshire sites despite assurances from other leading herpetologists that adders were absent from the County.
After moving down to Warwickshire Ian's interests in mainly vertebrate species continued to develop and in 2000 he set up EcoLine, a small specialist ecological consultancy that allowed him to combine all his interests in to one job. He tried to keep the consultancy small but was eventually compelled to take on employees and now has three members of staff.
Wishing to keep true to his commitment to personal development, Ian insists on enabling staff regular training days throughout the year. Training events has mainly been in house, and includes an open invitation to other ecologists in the area to attend, but staff members are free to explore other training opportunities as required. In February EcoLine took on a former Lemur trainee and provides a ring-fenced training budget as part of this appointment.
