John Durnell, Fee Worton, Louise Morris, and Gemma Walker

Marsh Award for Outstanding Leadership and Innovation in Nature Restoration 

John Durnell, Director of Nature-Based Solutions, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust 

In the last 4 years, John has been responsible for transforming the Trust into one of the foremost deliverers of nature-based solutions. He saw the opportunity to pioneer such schemes in 2019 and worked with Natural England and Local Authorities to design, develop and implement the first nutrient-neutrality scheme in England. John led from the front, working through the technical and legal details and taking the Trust through all stages of developing the scheme. He established his Trust  as a trusted deliverer of such schemes, developed a strong team and has delivered countless webinars to other Trusts to share his knowledge further. John’s work has led to the acquisition of over 500 acres of low-grade agricultural land, which is already humming with wildlife as the land heals, showing that nature recovery can mitigate for the impact of new housing. No other Trust has moved as fast or as successfully in this space, and that is down to John’s leadership, innovation and vision. 

Marsh Award for Outstanding Public Engagement 

Fee Worton, Nextdoor Nature Community Organiser, Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust 

Fee is an enthusiastic and energetic communicator. She has worked, largely on her own, to establish bridges within the community in Leicester, engaging with and inspiring people who otherwise may not have felt a connection with nature. She always have a smile on her face, an idea up her sleeve and seems to leave everyone enthused in her wake. Throughout the Nextdoor Nature project, Fee went above and beyond to build relationships in the community, collaborating with organisations and community groups, and attending a number of events to share the work of the Wildlife Trusts. She has engaged with over 5,000 people and has largely been the only staff member on the project. She is innovative in her thinking and always finds a way to keep the project moving forward and developing. Fee has involved people of all ages in the project and helped to increase mental and physical wellbeing of the community, all the while encouraging them to protect the environment around them. 

Marsh Award for Outstanding Team-Work 

Louise Morris, Transforming the Trent Valley (TTTV) Project Manager, Staffordshire Wildlife Trust 

Louise led this highly successful and innovative 5 year landscape partnership from development through to the delivery of 16 incredible projects. She led local authorities, statutory bodies and businesses to work together to connect communities, support local action and restore and enhance the natural environment and cultural heritage of the Trent Valley. Her work has led to the creation of a revitalised and treasured landscape of wildlife-rich waterways and wetlands. Louise provided strong leadership to a team which spanned a geographical and topical divide, bringing together a variety of skills and experience and encouraging professional and personal development throughout her team. She has enabled communities to reconnect with nature in a new way, and built important relationships with stakeholders who want to remain part of the project as it develops. Louise is enthusiastic about the importance of community engagement with her project, recruiting over 400 volunteers and featuring in the media to raise awareness of her team and the wider Wildlife Trusts network. 

Marsh Award for Unsung Hero 

Gemma Walker, Wilder Communities Manager, Norfolk Wildlife Trust 

Gemma has been with Norfolk Wildlife Trust for over 20 years, working in a number of roles which have all had a focus on being out in the community and inspiring thousands of projects and tangible acts for nature. She has devised the Wilder Community workshop programme at the Trust every year and has supported other Trusts to develop their own programmes to encourage community involvement in the protection of nature. Gemma is generous with her advice, answering questions from both the public and other staff members alike. She speaks from the heart and people learn from her and are inspired to take action for nature. Gemma has been instrumental in leading the community engagement process at Norfolk Wildlife Trust from the very start, running listening events and consultations, developing citizen science programmes and managing to reach new audiences who otherwise would not have engaged with nature. She is an excellent Ambassador for the Wildlife Trusts, and gives great support to her team at all times.  

Luke Neal and Lindsay Pyne

Marsh Award for Leadership and Innovation in Nature Restoration 

Luke Neal, Shropshire Wildlife Trust 

Luke has worked for Shropshire Wildlife Trust for 10 years and has been the driving force behind a series of habitat restoration projects, in both community engagement and technical management roles. He has recently created a new alliance of landowners and secures £1 million in funding for habitat restoration on the banks of the River Worfe. He is also developing the Trust’s land manager advice services to help persuade a growing number of land managers that the expertise of the Trust can help them move toward profitable and more sustainable ways of farming. Luke led on the Trust’s participation in the ‘Shropshire Slow the Flow’ project, which created 400 woody dams to help reduce the flood peak at the River Corve and provide valuable evidence for peer-reviewed studies into the efficacy of natural flood management. His work has helped to demonstrate that the restoration of habitat on third part land is feasible and fundable at scales, which has in turn increased the Wildlife Trusts’ standing and influence with major land managers. Luke is dedicated, energetic, articulate, a fearless advocate for nature’s recovery and a clear-sighted and diplomatic ambassador for the Wildlife Trusts as a whole. 

Marsh Unsung Hero Leadership Award 

Lindsay Pyne, Alderney Wildlife Trust 

Lindsay has been involved with the Trust since its foundation over 20 years ago and has taken on multiple roles with the organisation, including administration, accounting, botanising and supporting the internship programme. Her dedication, efficiency and boundless energy have been instrumental in establishing and maintaining a Trust on the Channel Islands, which is now one of the largest wildlife charities in the area. Over the past 12 months, Lindsay has worked tirelessly to co-lead the development of the Trust’s Business Plan, which will help bring their goals in line with the wider Wildlife Trusts strategy. Her contributions are all done quietly, with no desire to be recognised or applauded for her efforts. Lindsay has created a solid foundation within the Trust’s operations and has undertaken more work sessions than any other conservation volunteers, maintaining several miles of countryside path each year in her spare time to keep them accessible. She has supported nearly 80 interns over the past 20 years, helping them to learn new skills and get the most out of the programme, and many of them have gone on to work with the Wildlife Trusts. 

James Hitchcock and Flavia Ojok

Marsh Award for Leadership and Innovation in Nature Restoration 

James Hitchcock – Radnorshire Wildlife Trust 

James is the CEO of the Radnorshire Wildlife Trust in Wales. James has been running campaigning work on the River Wye with the determination to buy a key nature recovery site at Pentwyn Farm. Managing the risks of the process and gaining trustee buy-in shows his extraordinary leadership courage. The farm is already being recognised as an exemplary regenerative farm that local farmers have been invited to visit to discuss sustainable farming and produce change in local farms. James’ work has been challenging due to border complexities and he has bought together partners and communities to challenge governments, agencies, and food suppliers. He has also developed an all Wales and cross border citizen science project to empower communities to help restore the iconic river. The River Wye campaign is creating a focus on pollution, which has helped Welsh advocacy work to ensure water regulations are supported and if the citizen science project is funded, then local communities will be empowered to become actively involved. James has a real ability to bring people with him whilst having the knowledge to address challenges. 

Marsh Unsung Hero Leadership Award 

Flavia Ojok – Derbyshire Wildlife Trust 

Flavia is the Early Talent and Inclusion Manager at the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust where she has lead culture change by developing programmes to enable underrepresented groups to gain paid work experience. Flavia’s work has transformed the way staff think about inclusion and has embedded it into their work. The Trust have seen increases of young age groups and ethnic minorities working for them over the past few years and the cultural change she has encouraged has allowed people to feel they can join the Wildlife Trust, increasing the number of people that advocate for nature and encouraging more diverse groups to gain employment in the sector. This will allow the Trust to learn and grow to have an impact for their success and the wild spaces in the future. The Trust now has paid traineeships that are embedded into their work, reducing barriers, and providing those accessing them with real skills for the future.  

Lisa Lane and Rachel Giles

Marsh Award for Leadership and Innovation in Nature Restoration 

• Lisa Lane – Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust 

Lisa has been with the Trust for over 17 years and has been dedicated to the transformation of Chimney Meadows Nature Reserve from a barren wheat farm to an incredibly diverse, wildlife rich nature reserve. Lisa has brought in numerous funding projects with the help of the grants team, including constructing a new bird hide along the Thames path and improving species diversity, improving access and information on the ground to help the public understand the wildlife at Chimney Meadows. In 2017, Lisa and her team were presented with a unique opportunity to undertake a wetland restoration project of a size and scale that is rarely seen in the area. Once funding was secured, she was instrumental in transforming the waterway to allow the old River Thames to be connected back to the river and floodplain, whilst also creating a migration route for fish to move to new breeding habitats. Work on this project officially began in 2020, during the pandemic, and is progressing well. In late December 2020, Lisa was diagnosed with breast cancer, she has gone through surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but her determination to see the work through, she has been able to still work, making sure that the project continues with the support of the Project team. Lisa also developed the Friends of Chimney Meadows volunteers, which now has 100 volunteer members, focussing on fencing works, habitat management and access works. Her legacy is remarkable and impactful, with the foundations she has laid allowing work to continue for many years to come. 

 Marsh Unsung Hero Leadership Award 

• Rachel Giles – Cheshire Wildlife Trust 

 Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) is a private investment stream which is being explored by the Wildlife Trusts as a way of securing long term additional funding to help the organisation achieve its nature recovery objectives. Rachel has been an ambassador for BNG for the past 6 years, demonstrating commitment to securing the funding, courage to explore this new opportunity and consistent teamwork resulting in transformational change for not just her local Trust, but the organisation as a whole. Initially, her focus was on proofing the funding stream to ensure it would be suitable for the Wildlife Trusts to work with, but she has now expanded her reach to a national level of working across the organisation – helping to implement the systems and build a partnership with BNG that will ensure their funding is available to the Wildlife Trusts on a long-term basis. Rachel has been called upon to provide training courses to local Trusts on how best to utilise this funding and has been part of important discussions with national and government bodies on how this funding is being ised by the Wildlife Trusts. Thanks to Rachel’s dedication and commitment, more people across the Wildlife Trusts movement are ready to engage with this new stream of funding. She has initiated a cascade of shared knowledge which will flow out to better decisions for nature across the country. She has done this without seeking recognition, satisfied with the knowledge that she has contributed to making nature better.