Trustees

Lara has been a partner at law firm Osborne Clarke since 2001; she is head of its Bristol office and a member of its supervisory board. A long-time supporter of various environmental charities, Lara is passionate about wildlife conservation and biodiversity.

Within her work as a commercial lawyer, she champions the "greening" of business contracts, through measures such as incorporating environmental and net zero commitments into supply chain arrangements. She has also advised on various projects promoting "nature-based solutions". Lara loves heading out into the countryside for weekend walks with her two teenage sons and teaching them to appreciate the natural environment. She is also really enjoying re-wilding her garden in Bristol to create a wildlife-friendly habitat.

Martin is a chartered accountant and business leader with a successful 30-year career developed in visionary, values defined organisations. In 1998 he and his family relocated to the Southwest attracted by the natural beauty of the region and the opportunity to join Orange. Over 13 years he played a leading role establishing the commercial culture of the business during a period of unprecedented growth to market leadership and integration into EE.

In the last decade he led the transformation of Alexandra placing sustainable practices at its core and playing a key role during the COVID crisis. A keen hiker, runner, and dog walker whose experiences in the UK’s national parks has created a lasting appreciation for the benefits of nature and its positive impact on lives. He is a lifelong member of the National Trust and a walk leader volunteer at Bathscape.

Ross is a partner in the law firm Burges Salmon and heads their renewable energy team. Ross has over 25 years experience advising on environmental and sustainable energy and has worked on many of the UK’s key projects in that area. He has always had a love of wildlife and the countryside. Ross was previously a council member of the United Kingdom Environmental Law Association and is a Trustee for Bristol’s “We the Curious.” He is also on the managing Board of Burges Salmon.

Zac has been a chartered architect for over 16 years and an associate with Alec French Architects for over 12 years. With an overarching ethos for low energy low impact sustainable architecture, he is a certified Passivhaus Designer and has extensive knowledge of a wide range of construction and building types; community, education, residential, mixed use, sports and leisure projects.  Practicing what he preaches, he manages the office ISO14001 accreditation, has gained Carbon Neutral® company status, undertakes carbon foot printing and plants native broadleaf trees in the local community for carbon offsetting.

He is also passionate about conservation of native wildlife, taking holidays in Northumberland and Cornwall, seal and dolphin watching.  He supports a number of animal and wildlife charities; World Animal Protector, Four Paws, The Brooke, The Donkey Sanctuary, The Woodland Trust and is a volunteer and member of the Friends of the Bath Cats and Dogs Home.

Nathan is a science teacher at an inner-city secondary school in Bristol. His passion for nature and the environment started from childhood, and then he went on to study environmental science at university. From connections made in Plymouth, he self-funded a research trip to Nicaragua for seven months with the help of ENCA (the Environmental Network of Central America); investigating the impact of society and tourism on its environment. Whilst there, he found that education and immersion in the outdoors is key to making people value nature and the positive impact it can have on our lives. He currently run an eco-club for students within his school, trying to encourage a culturally diverse school body to collectively care more about the environment. The benefits of nature on our well being are clear to those of us that immerse ourselves in the outdoors. However, communities which have not had these experiences cannot place value on something they do not relate to. He wants to work with the trust to open these experiences for all communities of Bristol and Bath; creating a welcoming environment for all cultures and a trust that represents its community.

Kate qualified as a Chartered Accountant at PwC in Bristol and worked mainly in the Charity and Public Sectors on clients such as Bristol Zoo, National Trust and the Forestry Commission. In 2011, Kate moved to Triodos Bank to help set up their Internal Audit and Risk management function in their UK division, before moving into an Operations role in the Business Banking team. Kate has always loved walking and horse-riding in the Mendips, and discovering the wildlife that inhabits it, since she was six years old. She has two young boys and wants them to enjoy the countryside and wildlife as much as she did as a child. After reading the AWT Magazine this summer, they made a pond in their garden and all of the family were delighted when they found a frog had made it its home.

Ped has a huge passion for improving our food and agricultural systems and the natural environment. He is committed to helping to find a way that we can exist on this planet in a way that benefits all flora and fauna. Originally studying environmental sciences at university, Ped spent the next decade mixed between travelling and operational and commercial management of small to medium sized business in the food retail sector. Deciding to combine his degree with his work, Ped has been working at The Community Farm for 6 years and is the Managing Director. The Community Farm is a social enterprise with the aim of improving our local food systems though nature friendly farming. He is also a founding member and sits on the board of Bristol Food Producers, an organisation aiming to upscale local food production and distribution in Bristol. In his spare time Ped enjoys running, football, cycling and being in the sea. And food.

Dr Mark Steer works in an academic role at the University of the West of England where he teaches, researches and practices conservation biology. Mark is involved in developing novel conservation monitoring techniques focused on extracting species’ DNA from the environment to understand the distribution and behaviour of elusive species ranging from eels to lemurs. He is also assisting the creation of a new protected area in Madagascar’s central highlands. He has been involved in a number of studies to understand the impact of changing environmental conditions and economic drivers on wildlife-rich habitats in Somerset.

Dominic has been a campaigner, researcher and consultant on environmental economics, policy and strategy for more than 30 years. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, he campaigned to stop deforestation, especially of tropical and temperate rainforests. During his Masters degree, he wrote one of the earliest papers on the potential impacts of climate change on patterns of agricultural trade. His doctoral thesis – on the drivers behind the narrowing of in situ genetic diversity in agriculture – was published in full by Macmillan Press. After almost 20 years with Eunomia, the consulting firm he set up in 2001, he exited the company, and now carries out advisory work on environmental policy and strategy, as well as writing on environmental matters. He is an Honorary Member of the Green Angel Syndicate, and was formerly Chair of the Board of the West of England Nature Partnership.

Rebecca has over 13 years’ experience building and supporting movements to advance the fight for an open, just, and habitable world. She was listed in Management Today's 35 Women Under 35 list in 2020, and in 2019 listed in the WISE100, recognising the most inspiring and influential women in social enterprise, impact investment and mission-driven business. Rebecca is currently Country Director / CEO at The Hunger Project UK and was previously CEO for the charity City to Sea. She is skilled at incentivising collaboration across sectors and leveraging support and expertise to maximise impact through engaging and unique proposals. City to Sea’s behaviour change campaigns tangibly benefited from her innovative ideas and responsiveness, surpassing strategic objectives under her leadership. In 2019 she came up with the National Refill Day awareness day, as part of their Refill campaign, which resulted in 100+ pieces of media coverage and was trending all day on Twitter. She is passionate about getting money to the climate solutions that will have the biggest impact.

Sumita is a Non-Executive Director and diversity leader with over 15 years’ experience of strategic influence and negotiation, at the highest levels, in the public and private sector. She has had a focus on sustainability and nature in all aspects of her career and currently volunteers as the PR, media and organisations lead for Europe for Conscious Planet - Save Soil.

Diversity is another strong focus. Sumita chaired Bristol’s Mayoral commission on Racial Equality from 2016 to 2019 and continues to champion and lead on diversity in her non-exec roles. She brings considerable experience and expertise in organisational governance and a strong legal and commercial background having started her career as an employment lawyer.

Sumita says: “I am delighted to be applying for this role. I love the vision and values of Avon Wildlife Trust. I believe these are vital and I would love to be a part of delivering the strategy, locally in the areas that I live and work in. I also believe that I would bring valuable Board governance expertise together with a diverse and fresh insight from the global work I am doing as part of Save Soil”. 

Karen has spent over 30 years in wildlife conservation and environmental management, working for public and private organisations including the Environment Agency and Wessex Water. She is currently Technical Director for Carbon within the Engineering Net Zero Programme at AtkinsRéalis.

With a lifelong commitment to the Wildlife Trusts, extensive experience in managing impactful environmental projects, skills in implementing behavioural change, fundraising and financial management, Karen has expertise in and a personal passion for nature; she wants to use these to drive positive change and connect people with nature through the Trustee role at Avon Wildlife Trust.

Karen says “I was drawn to this opportunity as I feel the role requirements dovetail really well with the skills and knowledge I have gained over the course of my career, as well as my personal passion for the natural environment. The role aligns with my belief in the importance of connecting people with nature, and the imperative to raise awareness of, and take action to address the biodiversity and climate crises. I would love the opportunity to apply my passion and knowledge to a meaningful cause, helping make a difference within my local area.

The role of the Trust’s Board of Trustees is to deal with regular business, with occasional extra meetings to address strategic or special matters. This body has full responsibility for the strategic development and direction of the Trust, and takes all decisions on matters of Trust policy.

The constitution of the Trust provides for a maximum of 12 Trustees - up to six elected directly by Trust members at the AGM, and up to six appointed by the Trustees to ensure an appropriate balance of skills, experience and representation on the Board. The Board can also co-opt Trustees to fill any vacancy between AGMs. The Trust currently has 11 Trustees.

Trustees serve by election or appointment for three years.

Avon Wildlife Trust's Board of Trustees meets every three months, with occasional extra meetings to address strategic or special matters.