Trustees

Richard is a partner in Climate Change and Sustainability and over the last 20 years he has worked with many of the largest consultancies and organisations globally on a wide range of climate change and sustainability engagements. He has led climate change and sustainability engagements for leading organisations in the UK, across mainland Europe and Asia and in 25 countries overall. Richard is passionate about nature and spends most of his free time in nature or reading about it.

Chris was a European MP for the North West from 1999-2014 and 2019-20. During this time he worked primarily on EU wildlife, waste, climate, energy and sustainable fisheries legislation, mostly as a member of the Parliament’s environment committee but at the end of his time in office also as chair of the fisheries committee. Currently he is director of an advocacy and campaign body – Carbon Capture & Storage Europe.

A member of the House of Commons from 1995-97, and previously a consultant in communications and marketing, he is a former winner both of the Green Ribbon Political Award and of the MEP of the Year award in the environment category.

A fell runner for more than 40 years, he served as honorary president of Lancashire Wildlife Trust from 2015 to 2023.

Iqbal is a qualified commercial accountant with more than 25 years of experience in managing finances for leading FT100 companies, with a proven track record in driving business growth.

A keen hiker, Iqbal can be found walking the beautiful Lake District on many a weekend, appreciating the natural environment and all it has to offer.

Joan has had an extensive career in Human Resources Management within the private sector and also brings experience as a Trustee of occupational pension schemes. She is a volunteer with Lancashire Wildlife Trust and loves to take part in citizen science projects, conducting surveys of threatened species and habitats. Joan is a keen advocate of the therapeutic benefits of connecting with nature.

Ted Jackson was Chairman of the Trust Council from 1982-2013.

Ted was a former Chief Education Officer with the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, and prior to his retirement in 1997 was Head of Countryside Services in Liverpool, based at Croxteth Country Park. Ted is also a knowledgeable ornithologist and environmental educationalist. 

Philip is Emeritus Professor of Ecology at the University of Salford and an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the University of Manchester. Philip is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology, A Fellow of the Linnean Society and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management.

Since retiring, Philip has remained active within the ecological conservation sector by writing a second edition of one of his books and by contributing to a research project focused on the future of riparian corridors and their management.

John worked in construction in the UK and Middle East, becoming a Chartered Builder before taking up conservation work full time. With fellow volunteers he set up Red Lee Conservation Trust, managing a small reserve in the early 2000s. He combines practical conservation work with research projects, specialising in rare and declining bird species.

In his spare time John is the proud co-owner of a community football club, and can still be seen getting muddy on many of our reserves. 

Sheila’s background is in the life sciences and in wildlife conservation. Now semi-retired, she has held academic leadership posts at the University of Cumbria and, more recently, as Dean of the School of Science, Engineering and Environment at the University of Salford.

A former trustee and council member of The Mammal Society, The New Island Conservation Trust (Falkland Islands) and two other wildlife trusts (Surrey, and Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire), Sheila is also a current Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology. Her interests include fell walking, watching wildlife, decent wine, and dry-stone walling.

Hazel is a retired solicitor, who specialised in change management, governance and risk. For 12 years, she was Quality Director and then Risk Director at international law firm, Eversheds LLP, with wide ranging responsibilities covering knowledge management and internal audit, as well as risk, quality and compliance.

Hazel is helping to showcase the trust's activities across Greater Manchester, but her favourite reserve to "get away from it all" is Warton Crag.

Deborah works as a part time Trustee and Non-Executive Director for a number of charities and housing organisations including Chair of Grainger Trust in London and Career Connect in Liverpool.

Deborah was previously Chief Executive of The Riverside Housing Group; her services to the housing sector were recognised when she was named a Commander of the British Empire in 2009.  Deborah is originally from Yorkshire, a graduate of Oxford University and married with two sons.

James is a solicitor at Napthens specialising in rural property matters so is a regular visitor to the countryside to see clients. He has a border collie so can often be found out and about walking her trying to tire her out. He also has undertaken breeding programmes with rare breed poultry in his younger years and now keeps rare breed ornamental pheasants.

John is a Registered Chartered Safety and Health Practitioner and until his retirement in 2015 he was the UK Environment and Safety Manager for AB InBev, the worlds largest Brewing Company. John is currently the Chair of the Lancashire Environment Forum and the Lancashire Nature Partnership.

As well as his wife, 2 daughters and 5 grandchildren John's passion remains as Safety, Health and the Environment.

Nick holds a degree in Ecology and an MBA. He brings a wide range of financial, management, commercial and entrepreneurial experience, including founding Mountain Heaven Limited and working as a non-executive director of an NHS Foundation Trust. Nick has a wide and ongoing passion for nature, the outdoors and conservation.

Gemma has worked in nature conservation for over 20 years. During that time she has worked in practical and strategic roles, managing teams and delivering projects across the UK and abroad. Gemma is now a self-employed environmental consultant specialising in landscape scale conservation as well as operating a wildlife tour company in the Morecambe Bay area. Gemma is passionate about engaging people from all walks of life with the wonders of nature and is happiest when exploring outdoors with her camera in tow.

Sarie Mairs Slee is Executive Director of Here for Culture & Place, a consultancy supporting cross-sector, place-based partnerships to maximise their vision, resilience and impact. Sarie is currently working as Strategic Lead for the Northern Place and Culture Partnership, working with policy, business and sector leads across the North of England.  She is also an External Strategic Advisor – Creative Placemaking for The Audience Agency. Previously, Sarie has serves as the Head of the Salford Culture and Place Partnership, a cross-city partnership in Greater Manchester leading on Salford’s strategy for creativity, culture and placemaking. Sarie’s background spans academic teaching and research, creative practice and social entrepreneurship, engaging with the roles of culture/creativity in sustainable urban regeneration and physical performance practice in surprising and intermingling ways.  As a values-based leader, Sarie sees collaboration as the key component to risk-ready, meaningful, and impactful work across culture and place:  building mutually beneficial relationships, grounded in a parity of respect, with common desire to ‘do’ better.