How we're run

woodland

Forest interior at dawn, National Forest, Spring, 2011 - Ben Hall/2020VISION

How we're run

How we're run

Cheshire Wildlife Trust is one of 46 Wildlife Trusts working across the UK. With the invaluable support of volunteers and members we manage around 40 nature reserves. We also work with other organisations and landowners to protect and connect wildlife sites across the county and inspire local communities and young people to care for wildlife where they live. 

As the region’s leading wildlife charity, we act as a voice for wildlife and the environment, meeting with those who shape and influence our cities, towns and countryside from your local community to Westminster. 

Patron, President and Vice Presidents

Patron - Richard Walker OBE

Richard Walker, Patron of Cheshire Wildlife Trust

"I was thrilled to receive the invitation to become Patron of Cheshire Wildlife Trust, and absolutely delighted to accept it. It is clearly a great honour to be offered a position previously held by the late Duke of Westminster, and I realise that I have very big shoes to fill. 

“I am passionate about protecting the natural world and naturally feel a particular attachment to the wonderful Cheshire countryside and wildlife on my own doorstep. My family and I spend as much time outdoors as we can, and we have seen for ourselves and fully appreciate the great work that the Trust is doing. 

"I look forward to supporting the Trust in furthering its Mission and I hope to be able to contribute to their important work not just as a figurehead and ambassador, but by offering real practical help to advance their agenda. I very much look forward to getting to know and working with the whole of the Cheshire Wildlife Trust team.” 

President - Felicity Goodey CBE

Felicity Goodey

Felicity joined the Trust as President in 2011, after a long career as a well-known regional and national journalist and more recently, as a prominent advocate of the arts, healthcare and regeneration issues across the North West. Felicity played a key role in the relocation of a number of the BBC's services from London to Media City in Salford, along with supporting the hugely successful Lowry Theatre and acting as one of the founding board members of the former North West Development Agency. She is also the chairman of University Hospital South Manchester at Wythenshawe, recently acknowledged as Britain’s greenest hospital. 

Felicity regularly attends many of the Trust's key annual events, including hosting and chairing the AGM and Members' Day. 

Vice President - Ben Hall

Cheshire born and bred, and still living in Stockport, Ben is one of the UK's most highly-acclaimed wildlife photographers, with his work regularly seen across almost every major British natural history publication from BBC Wildlife, through to the RSPB's Nature's Home and several leading photography magazines. Ben's emotive and evocative images - many of which are captured from here in the region - have received numerous national and international awards, and he shares his passion for British and North West wildlife through talks, a blog and hosting photographic tuition sessions. 

Honorary Vice President - Professor David Norman

David was chair of the Board of Trustees at the Trust from 2004-2012 and was founder chairman of the Mersey Estuary Conservation Group, RECORD (the local biodiversity records centre for Cheshire) and Groundwork Mersey Valley. Nationally, David was a Council member of English Nature (1996-2002), acting as Chairman for six months, and on the Council of the RSPB (2004-09). 

David now spends all of his time in voluntary activities, including research on birds through Honorary Research Associate positions at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, USA, and the University of Liverpool Veterinary School. David is a very active bird-ringer including chairing the Merseyside Ringing Group and wrote the acclaimed ‘Birds in Cheshire and Wirral: a breeding and wintering atlas'. 

Our governance

Cheshire Wildlife Trust currently has 12 trustees (sometimes called Council members) who are all volunteers and receive no payment for their work. As the Trust is a registered charity and a limited company, Council members are trustees of the charity and directors of the company, accountable to the Charity Commission and Companies House for ensuring that the Trust is governed legally. The trustees have the ultimate responsibility for running the charity, for its property, finances and the employment of staff and volunteers. 

Our Trustees come from all walks of life and have expertise in a wide range of areas including accountancy; human resources; marketing; PR and rural land management. They are united by their wish to create a positive change for wildlife in the Cheshire region and between them have a wealth of conservation interests from bird ringing, to wildlife photography, to cetacean research and surveying. 

Trustees are appointed at the Annual General Meeting of the Trust each November. 

More information on the role and responsibilities of a trustee can be found on the Charity Commission website http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk

Articles of association

Our privacy and cookie policy

Our complaints policy

Cheshire Wildlife Trust is committed to delivering a high standard of service to anyone who engages with our work. We are keen to hear from anyone who believes we have fallen short of the high standards we set ourselves.

We are keen to hear from anyone who believes we have fallen short of the high standards we set ourselves. You can provide feedback by:

• telephone: 01948 820728

• email: info@cheshirewt.org.uk or

• post: Cheshire Wildlife Trust, Bickley Hall Farm, Bickley, Cheshire SY14 8EF. If you are not satisfied by the response received as per above, please proceed to:

Complaints Procedure

Stage 1

Download the form below, complete and submit the form to us.
We will acknowledge and provide an initial response to your feedback within 10 working days of receiving the form. Whilst we expect to be able to resolve most complaints within that timeframe, if we need to conduct a more in-depth investigation, we will aim to provide you with a full response within 20 working days. If we are unable to meet that deadline due to exceptional circumstances, we will of course let you know.

Stage 2

If you are not happy with the response you receive after stage 1, you can escalate your concerns to the Chief Executive who will consider the matter in more detail.

Stage 3

If you are still not happy you can escalate your concerns to the Trustee Complaints Appeal Panel

Stage 4

Cheshire Wildlife Trust is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and is committed to the highest standards in fundraising practice. If your complaint is to do with fundraising and you feel that it has been unresolved by us then the Fundraising Regulator can investigate your complaint. You must contact them within four weeks of receiving your response from us. You can complain

By post to: Fundraising Regulator, 2nd floor, CAN Mezzanine Building, 49-51 East Road, London, N1 6AH

Online at: www.fundraisingregulator.org.uk/make-a-complaint/complain-about-a-fundraising-approach/

By phone: 0300 999 3407

Alternatively if your complaint is related to another area of our work and you do not feel completely satisfied by our response then you can contact:

The Charity Commission
PO Box 1227
Liverpool
L69 3UG
0845 3000 218
www.charity-commission.gov.uk

Our council

Bill Stothart (Chair)

Bill Stothart

Bill is an experienced Finance Director who is keen to contribute to the success of the Trust.  A Chartered Accountant with a maths degree and an MBA, he worked for Shell for 20 years in the UK and internationally, and then in the public sector in further and higher education. Bill has a strong interest in and concern for wildlife and conservation of natural environments. He became a Trustee at the AGM in 2016 and wants to use his finance and general management experience and background to support and develop CWT to deliver on its objectives in the interests of wildlife, as well as our members and volunteers.

Bill says “I have enjoyed my time involved with the Trust. I have gained from the experience and learned a lot from meeting and working with Trustees, all levels of staff, and volunteers and members. I believe the Trust is well run and has a good staff team and Trustees, and that it remains open to strive for improvement. Our ambition should be to continue to grow the Trust and its impact”

Bill is also a Trustee and Honorary Treasurer for the NeuroMuscular Centre in Winsford. He is married and lives in Christleton, near Chester. Bill enjoys spending time with his family, travel, cycling, bird watching, playing tennis and badminton, and watching a wide variety of live sport, theatre and music.

Charles Neame (Vice Chair)

Charles Neame

Charles comes from a farming background in Kent. He spent a number of years in the family fruit growing business after graduating, before returning to university for postgraduate studies. He has been keen supporter of the Wildlife Trusts for over 40 years, having been a life member of the Kent Wildlife Trust since the 1970s.

After an MSc in Agricultural Economics in 1991, he taught Agricultural and Environmental Business Management at Cranfield University until 2008. He completed a Doctorate in Education while at Cranfield, and has spent the last 15 years working in various Higher Education institutions in England and Scotland to improve the quality of teaching, in staff development and quality enhancement roles. In this capacity he has served as Trustee and Director of the Staff and Educational Development Association.

While at Cranfield Charles was trustee and chair of the Bedfordshire Green Business Network, a charity which supports the environmental management practices of small and medium sized businesses.

He is a member of a number of conservation charities and has a particular interest in sustainable agriculture.

Peter Rushton (Treasurer)

Peter Rushton

A Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Peter has more than 20 year’s accountancy, finance and business experience. He started his working life as an apprentice gardener, before returning to full time education to study European Finance and Accounting at Leeds Metropolitan University and the Hochshule in Bremen.

Upon graduation he trained and qualified in public practice before leaving to take up a number of senior management positions within major blue chip leisure/retail organisations.

He currently runs a successful city centre accountancy practice which provides a full range of finance/business advisory services to a diverse range of owner managed business and voluntary organisations.

Peter uses his business and finance knowledge to the benefit of the trust and to ensure it manages its financial resources for the good of the local wildlife.

With a lifelong interest in wildlife and the environment, Peter is also a keen traveller and has been wildlife spotting in Europe, Africa, Oceania, Asia and the Americas. He is also an avid sailor and has sailed extensively around the west coast of the UK and Ireland, trying to spot dolphins and whales.

Claire Swarbrick (Honorary Secretary)

claire swarbrick

Claire is a corporate lawyer with over 18 years’ experience advising and supporting businesses on legal, governance and regulatory compliance matters across a variety of sectors. She has a strong interest in raising awareness about the importance of ethical working practices and driving corporate social responsibility initiatives.

Born in Lancashire, Claire studied for her law degree at the University of Nottingham before completing her post-graduate studies at the College of Law in Chester. She completed her legal training contract at a law firm in Manchester and has lived in Cheshire ever since.

A nature lover from an early age, Claire is incredibly passionate about animal welfare and wildlife preservation. A greenspaces volunteer and member of her local conservation group, Claire’s hobbies include playing tennis and climbing mountains, but she enjoys nothing more than long walks in the countryside with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

Steve Judd

Steve Judd

A Cheshire resident for over 30 years and now living in Mouldsworth, Steve has been very fortunate to turn his boyhood passion for natural history, roaming the North Downs, into a career.  He has an environmental science degree, a natural science PhD and 36 years professional natural science experience, particularly in relation to invertebrate conservation management. In his current role, as Director of World Museum Liverpool, he is responsible for the display, collection management, development, documentation, research and interpretation of internationally important natural science, antiquities and ethnology collections.

Throughout his career, Steve has worked closely with national and regional conservation agencies, co-ordinating many commissioned species, site and invertebrate assemblage surveys. In his leisure time, he enjoys walking in the Cheshire countryside, spending time with his family and he has become increasingly fascinated by wildflower meadow conservation.

Sarah Williams

Sarah Williams

After graduating from the University of Manchester in modern languages and business management, Sarah started her career in economic development and inward investment at the North West Development Agency. But having grown up in North Wales and then travelling extensively across the world, predominantly on nature related adventures in developing countries, her focus shifted towards her passion for wildlife and conservation, thus, driving her to forge a career in the sector and to play her part in improving the environment.

During the last 10 years, this has involved consulting businesses on the renewable energy technologies and sustainability and, working in the parks and green spaces sector; where she has been demonstrating and communicating the value and importance of the natural environment.

Sarah currently works at the Environment Agency where she is involved in Defra’s Natural Capital Urban Pioneer programme for Greater Manchester. This focuses on exploring ways to unlock funding and finance for the natural environment, whilst also influencing decision makers to improve both the quality and quantity of natural environments within urban areas.

As well as having a passion for the natural environment and conservation, Sarah loves blues dancing, travelling and hill walking.

John Roscoe

John Roscoe

Born in Macclesfield and raised in Rainow, John’s passion for wildlife came from a childhood which is increasingly rare and wild – monitoring badger setts, fishing, building dens, being outside day after day in the hills and moors of north east Cheshire.

After university, John spent over twenty years building brands and businesses and managing and developing teams for Procter & Gamble, Diageo and Britvic, more recently working with entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses.  John gained personal experience of conservation when he owned and managed a 42 acre smallholding under a Higher Level Stewardship Agreement to encourage wildlife.

John is the father and primary carer of three young children and now applies what he has learnt professionally to make a difference in three areas of passion:  sport as an Event Director with parkrun; children’s development as a Trustee of a large Scout group; environment as a volunteer community garden leader and Trustee.  John regularly ‘wild swims’ and runs all distances from 5K parkruns to trail marathons. 

John says: “I am honoured and excited to be able to apply my professional skills to a cause I care so deeply about with people who are doing such fantastic work.  In particular I aim to focus on helping to strengthen the engagement of the local farming and residential community with Cheshire Wildlife Trust and growing our membership.  I am sure the next ten years will be amazing as the Trust brings wildlife back to Cheshire.”

Jamie Richards

Jamie Richards

Jamie is a chartered accountant and chartered tax advisor, working as a private client tax specialist within a ‘Big 4’ accounting firm. He is passionate about technology and digital transformation, and his financial acumen, digital innovation skills, boundless energy and creative thinking led to him being recognised as one of the 2020 eprivateclient ‘Top 35 Under 35’.

Jamie has always fostered a love of the great outdoors, and he enjoys spending as much time as he can in nature. He is a keen gardener, an avid skier, and a cycling and running enthusiast.

Jamie is a father to two young children, and it was this life event that inspired him to become more involved in the preservation and promotion of wildlife, as he began to truly recognise the critical importance of protecting our planet for future generations, and ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to connect with nature.  

Dr Rebecca Collins

Dr Rebecca Collins

Rebecca grew up in Knutsford - where she returns regularly to see family - and now lives on the Cheshire-Flintshire border.  Rebecca is a university lecturer in human geography, with research expertise in young people's environmental care, household environmental impacts through everyday consumption, and community sustainability initiatives.  In her teaching, she works closely with a range of private, public and third sector organisations to provide sustainability-oriented project work opportunities for her students. 

Rebecca’s academic career emerged from her earlier incarnation working in environmental education and as a volunteer youth worker.  As a result, she is looking forward to working with Cheshire Wildlife Trust on their youth and community engagement activities.  When not teaching or researching, Rebecca is likely to be found walking in Cheshire or Flintshire, trying to cram a few more plants into her garden, or indulging in one of her many creative hobbies including stone carving, life drawing and weaving. Rebecca is pictured rescuing a lost lamb whilst out on a run. 

Applications for our latest round of Board recruitment are now closed. Please keep an eye on our social media, emails and our volunteering page for any future opportunities.  

Meet the team

Our directors

Charlotte Harris, Chief Executive

Charlotte Harris, Chief Executive

Ben Gregory, Director of Operations

Ben Gregory, Director of Nature Recovery

Jo Darlington, Director of Fundraising & Engagement

Jo Darlington, Director of Fundraising & Engagement

John Garrett, Director of Business & Finance

John Garrett, Director of Business & Finance