Would you like to become a Trustee?
Each year we seek new trustees to join our board of 13, bringing with them the skills and dedication needed so that we can continue to protect local wildlife & special places and help people care for and connect with nature. As well as an enthusiasm and passion for wildlife, we need people with the right skills to help govern the Trust and, in particular, with professional expertise in areas such as wildlife friendly farming, ecology, biodiversity, rewilding or land management. Some experience of working in a decision-making group is vital and a good local knowledge of Rotherham and/or Sheffield is of great benefit. You would need to be able to commit to attending our Annual General Meeting (held in September) and at least four board meetings per year, which require some preparatory work.
We are really keen to hear from people who represent our diverse communities across Rotherham and Sheffield.
Our Patron
Mike Dilger
Mike is an ecologist, natural history presenter and writer and is probably best known for being the wildlife reporter on the BBC programme The One Show.
He has a life-long passion for British and tropical flora and fauna, of which he has profound experience and encyclopaedic knowledge.
Mike is committed to bringing the beauty of the natural world to a broader audience with enthusiasm and insight, rather than sensation or gimmicks.
He has Sheffield roots on his dad’s side and spent an extensive period working in Vietnam, Tanzania and Ecuador as a field biologist, before returning to the UK.
Our Board of Trustees
Mark Ridler Chair
A solicitor specialising in advising pension scheme trustees and their sponsoring companies, Mark has also acted as an independent trustee of pension schemes.
Earlier in his career he specialised in company and commercial law and he has been a partner in law firms in Sheffield and Leeds. He is currently a legal director working from home in Sheffield and an office in Manchester. Mark has lived in Sheffield since 1988, having previously studied at the University of Sheffield.
Mark has always had an interest in wildlife and recently became involved in environmental campaigns, particularly the Smithy Wood campaign, and wishes to use his experience in trust and business law, as well as his enthusiasm for conservation, to further the objectives of the Wildlife Trust.
Ben Stone (Vice Chair)
As Environment and Sustainability Business Partner, I lead on all Sustainability topics at Keepmoat Homes a national housebuilder based in South Yorkshire. In my role I oversee all aspects of sustainability, from environmental assessments of sites, assuring effective environmental protection and supporting initiatives to enhance the environment and support communities around development.
Alongside my professional experience, I am personally committed to environmental sustainability.
Living in the Redmires area I appreciate the natural environment locally and across Sheffield and the work the Wildlife Trust does to maintain and improve these resources.
Examples of skills and experience I offer to the Trust include, experience in Environmental Management Systems and their effective implementation, Carbon Footprinting, Quantification of social value for proposals and activities delivered by the Trust, Development of business partnership offering and alignment of offer to business needs and using my corporate experience working with Wildscapes to inform the consultancy and bidding approach for works.
Tom Dodd (Treasurer)
Tom currently works for Pricewaterhouse Coopers as an audit and assurance manager in the Sheffield office. He qualified as a charted accountant in 2012 and prior to that achieved a first-class honours degree in Economics from the University of Bath. He has been involved in a number of charity audit engagements, with both the national charities team at my pervious firm PKF and more locally in the region. Current and former clients include Museums Sheffield, the operator of a number of cultural venues in the city, Northern Rock Foundation and the Samaritans.
He was recently a member of the PwC Sheffield team that took part in a fundraising one-day walk form Leeds to Sheffield which raised £3,500 in support of Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, as well as being part of the team that volunteered to help maintain the RSPB Eastern Moor Reserve in the Peak District for a day in May 2016.
He is originally from Sheffield and now lives in Rotherham with his wife Vicky, and daughter, Libby. He has a long-standing passion for wildlife and the natural world and is pleased to be involved with promoting and preserving wildlife in the region.
Suzanne Leckie
Suzanne offers her skills and experience to the Trust and contribute to the continuation and development of our work.
Her professional career has been centred around heritage and nature conservation and sustainability – to begin with working for the Peak District National Park at their environmental education centre, then followed by over 20 years lecturing at Sheffield Hallam University, where she is now Head of Geography and Environment subject group.
She was a Trustee for Whirlow Hall Farm Trust for around 10 years, where she chaired the Education Committee, and she is currently a Member of the Peak District National Park Authority, where she has served on both major committees; Planning and Audit, Resources and Performance. There two very different organisations have provided a range of insights into approached to governance, finance and budgeting, and operational development.
Both her employment and external/voluntary activities have given her substantial exposure to decision making within a group, which have helped develop skills in balancing different views and priorities when coming to judgements. In terms of subject expertise, Suzanne can bring knowledge of engaging people and communities with their local place and the wider environment, whether through education, recreation or mechanisms. She would also hope to support opportunities to strengthen connections with the academic community of Sheffield.
Andrew Parker
After 30 years in management roles in manufacturing businesses mainly in the steel sector Andrew left full time employment at the end of 2015. With a lifelong interest in wildlife and the outdoors, he began volunteering with the Trust, supporting the Community Wildlife Officers and working with the Land Management Teams and has enjoyed getting to know the diverse reserves and the work which the Trust carries out. Becoming a Trustee has been a natural extension to that involvement.
He is also active in sports, particularly tennis and has spent most of the past 16 years on the committee of Chesterfield Tennis Club including leading a project of around £1 million to upgrade the club facilities. He is in his second spell as Club Chairman leading a committee of 12 diverse volunteers, a coaching team and administrative employees to promote and develop the tennis club for members and the community.
In addition to bringing the benefit of his business experience the Trust, Andrew’s growing understanding of the work of the Trust as a volunteer has enabled him to provide a valuable link between the Board of Trustees and volunteers.
Helen Francis
I have been searching for a trustee role within an organisation that aligns with my values, and am thankful that an opportunity has arisen with SRWT. Having been a trustee previously, I am aware of what is expected and believe I can bring a wide range of skill sets and knowledge to support working towards a better and green future involving nature. I always strive to have a positive impact, shown through my daily work as HR Senior Manager for Wickersley Partnership Trust based in Rotherham, covering 13 schools focusing on staff development and talent in order to deliver a high standard of education, I also volunteer as the chair of newly formed group Rotherham Climate Action, supported by Friends of The Earth, whose aims are to spread awareness of climate change and educate others in a way that allows them to make an informed choice not only benefiting the environment, but our local diverse community as well.
Andrew Perrins
Andrew moved to Sheffield in 2011 after retiring as a senior civil servant. He worked in MAFF and its successor Departments, Defra and the Department for Energy and Climate Change on a wide range of areas including land use, agri-environment schemes, organic farming and renewable energy. Until recently he has been on the board of the National Non-Food Crops Centre (NNFCC), a not for profit company specialising in commercialisation of renewable materials, which he helped to establish when in Defra. In these roles he had much experience of environmental policy work, land use issues and EU programmes as well as management, budgeting and governance aspects which could be relevant to the Trust. Mostly, though, Andrew was interested in the Trustee position because he has a strong interest in wildlife and protecting the environment, and would like to contribute to the superb work which the Trust is doing to protect and enhance our wild areas.
Holly Schofield
I am passionate about protecting the natural environment in my professional and personal life. As a Senior Climate Change Policy Advisor for the Environment Agency I lead on the decarbonisation of the water industry, growth of a renewable underground heat sector and nature-based solutions to meet the UK’s Net Zero 2050 commitment
I have extensive experience of environmental legislation, regulation and technical knowledge of water quality, hydrogeology, land management, peatland restoration and natural capital. Over the years I have established effective networks and participated in working groups with government, stakeholders and local communities.
I have had the opportunity to volunteer at several Wildlife Trusts across South Yorkshire and enjoy them in my spare time. I have also volunteered in Madagascar, researching the impact of climate change in a biodiversity hotspot, and plant trees at Tahiry Honko, the world’s largest mangrove “blue carbon” conservation project.
I am fortunate enough to live in Redmires, next to Wyming Brook Nature Reserve, and experience our unique wildlife first hand. I am keen to use my experience to ensure other people can also enjoy the numerous benefits of our local environment and wildlife and protect it for generations to come.
Sarah Blandy
I’m a longstanding member and supporter of SRWT and its aims, particularly to protect and create wildlife sites and green spaces and also to ensure that more people in Sheffield and Rotherham have opportunities to connect with nature. I see SRWT’s work to encourage more biodiversity in habitats for plants, insects, birds and mammals as essential to prevent further loss of valuable species.
I’ve lived in Heeley, Sheffield, for nearly forty years and a keen walker I know much of the area covered by SWRT very well. In September 2020 I retire as professor of property law at Sheffield University, and am looking forward to spending more time outside!
Sarah will contribute time and commitment to furthering SWRT’s aims, as well as her relevant expertise and experience. I’m very used to interpreting land ownership documents, and making sense of legislation and policies about planning and the environment. I am experienced in trust governance, having been since 2012 a trustee of Heeley Development Trust which manages a network of neighbourhood green spaces for the benefit of local people. I would also be interested in strengthening SRWT’s links with the academic community, and with local government.
Dr Stephen Campbell
I am a Consultant Cardiologist. I trained in London, Harvard, USA and Oxford before taking up my consultant post at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals (STH) in 1989. I retired, after more than 35 years’ service, from the NHS in 2016 but continue to practise privately, part-time. I also teach medical students at Sheffield University and have been awarded the title of Emeritus Professor. I was, for 10 years, the Clinical Director of the South Yorkshire Regional Cardiothoracic Centre at STH, gaining considerable managerial experience.
I have a lifelong interest in natural history and the environment. I am a longstanding member of the RSPB and National Trust. I joined the Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust (SRWT) some years ago and, after retiring from the NHS, have done volunteer work for the Trust on Blacka Moor reserve. I am keen to support SRWT further, in its vital work for the local environment. There are acknowledged health benefits for people engaging in contact with the natural world and environment. I would hope to be able to help facilitate this for the local population via the agency and expertise of SRWT, in synergy with the local health community.
Kris Mackay
As a nature lover with a strong background in health, community development and operational management, I hope that I have a broad range of experience that I could offer to support the Trust to achieve its strategic vision.
I specialise in collaborative approaches and currently lead a strengths-based community led wellbeing programme in Rotherham. As a result, I have strong relationships which community partners in Rotherham at both a strategic and community level.
Through working as a senior operational manager in the public and voluntary sector I have extensive experience in all aspects of strategic leadership including strong financial acumen and effective human resource management. Committed to ongoing professional development, I am currently working on my skills in corporate fundraising and bid writing
Outside of my work, I enjoy spending time with family and friends and walking, running or cycling in the hills and woods in and around Sheffield and Rotherham. Like many people I am greatly concerned by the severe loss of natural habitats and the steep decline in wildlife on both a local and global scale.
A strong advocate of local activism, I would love to offer my time and skills to support the Trust in its aim to create a vibrant living landscape which is valued and encouraged to thrive for future generations.
James Hall
I have been lucky to visit and explore many of the most beautiful places in the world, particularly whilst cycle touring in South America (two trips totalling 15 months and 20,000 km). I have also witnessed the human raping and destruction of our various habitats, highlighting the increasingly urgent need to preserve and protect our nature and biodiversity. This protection is equally important on our own doorstep and, through my volunteering work with SRWT I have come to appreciate their important role in this.
Arguably one of the best chances our ecosystems have is through organisations such as SRWT enabling and helping the public to reconnect with nature, not only on the reserves it manages but also in their advisory and petitioning capacities.
Prior to taking early retirement to pursue a more varied life, I spent over 25 years working for the NHS as a hospital doctor (including 13 years as a Consultant Urological Surgeon). Within my work I undertook a variety of leadership, training and selection roles which I hope may be useful in my position of a Trustee for SRWT.
Dr Scott McKenzie
Scott is Senior Catchment Manager at the Trent Rivers Trust and has always been passionate about natural history, wildlife and conservation – particularly anything wet. He has a long-standing relationship with the Wildlife Trust movement, joining Cheshire WT as a “Wildlife Watch” member in his youth, then volunteering with them after leaving school. Following his PhD in climate change ecology, his career path has seen him hold positions in private, public and charitable sectors – with conservation remaining the thread throughout.
Scott has a broad ecological knowledge but is specialised in aquatic ecology and was previously Living Rivers Programme Manager at Derbyshire WT, overseeing the conservation and recovery of rivers across the county. His current role sees him develop landscape-scale restoration projects to help deliver improvements in biodiversity, water quality and ecosystem processes. He is a firm advocate in restoring natural processes – particularly within rivers.
When not paddling and poking around in streams for work purposes, Scott can be found paddling and poking around in streams in his spare time with his partner and two small girls. Scott is a firm believer in ensuring good access to “blue” and “green” space – whether it’s an urban or rural environment – allowing everyone to have that connectivity with nature and wildlife that inspired him as a child.