Trustees

Matthew has lived in Norfolk for much of his life, while building a distinguished career over the past four decades in environmental, cultural and charitable leadership across the UK.

A passionate advocate for wildlife, the natural environment and the vital role they play in people’s lives, Matthew began his career in farming and sustainable land management before progressing into senior leadership roles with major environmental organisations. His experience includes The Land Trust and, during the ‘noughties’, four years as Head of Nature Reserves at Norfolk Wildlife Trust. He is currently Chief Executive of Nene Park Trust, where he leads work that brings together nature, people and culture to deliver lasting impact.

Matthew served for eight years as a Member of the Broads Authority, championing sensitive habitats and species alongside strong, effective governance. He has also held Non-Executive roles with the British Mountaineering Council, Living Sport and The Access and Conservation Trust. His current trusteeships span environmental, cultural and educational organisations, reflecting a long-standing commitment to public benefit, place and nature recovery.

“I am absolutely delighted to be a Trustee of Norfolk Wildlife Trust. It is a privilege to support an organisation whose mission is so important to Norfolk’s future. I hope to bring my experience, energy and deep commitment to wildlife to help advance nature recovery across the county.

John grew up in Whittlesey in the Cambridgeshire Fens, but has lived in Norfolk for the last 30 years and has been a member of NWT all that time. He is passionate about wildlife and spent 30 years as a professional conservationist, the last 25 for the RSPB, latterly as Conservation Manager for Eastern England until retirement in 2017. He has led teams giving conservation advice to farmers and successfully influenced decision makers in National and Local Government to protect and enhance wildlife. He was a member of the Broads Authority for eight years and Environment Agency Flood Defence Committees for over 17 years, working to ensure that the role of the natural environment was valued and taken into account in both their operations. Consequently he combines knowledge of the mechanics of conservation as well as a strategic overview, and understands the importance of effective communication and engaging people. Since becoming a Trustee he has assisted NWT with recruitment of senior posts, chaired the Trust's Governance Review Group, and taken a special interest in the Trust's conservation work.

"As a keen all round naturalist, Norfolk's wildlife has a special place in my heart and I want to use my skills and knowledge to support NWT to make a difference".

Richard’s professional background is in finance and sustainability. He holds a first class finance degree from the University of Wales and subsequently qualified as a chartered management accountant and IEMA fellow. Until recently, he led operations in finance and sustainability at a large regional company and then, when he turned 40, moved to a teaching role. Through this and other work, he remains connected with local businesses and not-for-profit organisations. Richard’s main interest is how ethical organisations are addressing the environmental crises and how this in turn enhances their financial and social performance.

Richard chairs the board at IEMA, the professional body for those working, studying or interested in environmental sustainability, so he’s a strong advocate for environmental education and green skills. He serves on several other charity and not-for-profit boards in addition to the NWT. He’s also a judge for international finance and environmental awards.

Richard has a long-standing passion for the natural world and is proud to have won many awards for successful environmental projects. Perhaps most revealing of his commitment is the green Blue Peter badge that he won back in primary school!

Bailey grew up surrounded by the many wonders of Norfolk wildlife which spurred her into a career in wildlife conservation and climate change communications. She was part of the first cohort to graduate from the University of Lincoln with a degree in Physical Geography, the first Environmental Sabbatical Officer at Lincoln Students' Union and in the country and has since been asked to speak at a Lincoln Cathedral graduation ceremony to inspire the recent graduates. She now works on behalf of Suffolk's Public Sector Organisations leading on climate emergency communications for the county.

Bailey is also a fantasy fiction author and has previously worked for Essex Wildlife Trust, and was previously the Editor-in-Chief of Dragonfly News - the official magazine of the British Dragonfly Society.

Catherine is Senior Manager at Arcadia, a family foundation. She advises the board, develops funding opportunities, and oversees a significant portfolio of grants to organisations working to find solutions to the global biodiversity crisis.

Her experience spans over 15 years and has included time in Greenland and Japan researching the impact of a changing climate on rivers, and time in Spain undertaking wetland conservation and management. More recently, she has supported conservationists at Fauna & Flora and academics at the University of Cambridge to think about how their work leads to impact, to develop monitoring and evaluation frameworks, and in fundraising and grant management.

Catherine holds a PhD in Environmental Science from the University of Birmingham, an MSc in Conservation Biology from the Complutense University of Madrid, and a BSc in Ecology from the University of Sheffield.

Catherine spends her weekends exploring Norfolk with her husband and dogs. She is keen to apply her experience to support the Norfolk Wildlife Trust in achieving its vision of abundant, thriving, and valued nature in Norfolk.

It was while studying environmental change and sustainability with the Open University that Glenn fully appreciated the complexities of the issues in protecting the natural world. He moved to Norfolk in retirement to enjoy its unique landscapes, joining other family members in the county.  

He spent over 30 years working in the investment management industry where he specialised in corporate governance and risk management, and was a company secretary. He also served nine years as an independent director of a social housing provider.

Glenn advises on corporate governance matters, including compliance with the Charity Governance Code. In addition to Council, he also sits on the boards of both NWT's operating subsidiaries and on the Finance, Audit and Risk Group.

Greg combines a passion for wildlife conservation with Business and Charity Governance as a longstanding trustee with extensive experience across NWT subcommittees. 

 

Professionally working with landowners, financial institutions and researchers, Greg leads the transition across much of Norfolk ,influencing land use change for biodiversity gain and climate change mitigation. 

 

With a track record in successful public and private fundraising, Greg has delivered projects locally, regionally, nationally and internationally, integrating community needs alongside sustainable habitat management. 

 

Greg has a strong interest in BTO science, is an RSPB raptor monitor and a prize-winning wildlife photographer.

Harry Buscall has a career background in land management and finance. As a partner at Wild Ken Hill in West Norfolk, he has contributed towards sustainable land use initiatives, focusing on carbon sequestration, biodiversity recovery, and regenerative farming. In his financial career, Harry worked at Ruffer LLP as an Investment Director, managing multi asset investment portfolios. Elsewhere he serves at Norfolk based educational and environmental organisations, where he chairs committees and advises on strategic projects.

Kathy was born and brought up in Norfolk, holidaying on the coast and sailing on the Norfolk Broads. She loves Norfolk wildlife in all its forms and lives in Norwich.  She is Deputy Director Science at Natural England, contributing science and evidence to conservation programmes across England and providing policy advice to government on the environment. 

She has broad environmental sector experience which includes working in local, regional and central government in sustainable development roles.  She has worked extensively in Norfolk as well as having 15 years of international experience as Strategy Director with an environmental charity.  She is chair of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative and Forum, and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. 

I am from Norfolk and live in the beautiful Broadland village of Dilham with my husband Neil and our pets. I have always had a passion for nature and enjoy attracting wildlife into our garden and taking early morning local walks. 

My career spans 36 years in Financial Services, specialising in Programme Delivery & Digital. 

I see the Norfolk Wildlife Trust as such an important organisation, driving research, education, and preservation. I hope to get the opportunity to use my skill set to support the trust in driving its strategy forward as well as to grow personally from the opportunity. 

Naomi has lived in Norfolk throughout her life. She qualified as a teacher from the University of East Anglia in 1997, then continued to study for her Master's degree in literacy a few years later.

She has worked for Ormiston Academies Trust for over 15 years, spending the previous 12 as Principal of Ormiston Victory Academy in Costessey.

Born in Great Yarmouth, Naomi is passionate about 'levelling the field' for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and alongside her role at Victory, she is also a Governor at Edward Worlledge Primary Academy. She also supports liaison between Ormiston Academies Trust and various independent schools to help students broaden their horizons, including the application process for available scholarships.

Naomi's love of nature tracks back to her childhood, but her son's passion for wildlife and the environment has reignited that spark of interest in recent years. Through her teaching - and through leading her school through a pandemic - Naomi came to realise the true magic and value of not just outside space for young people, but the importance of wilderness.

Richard was born in Gt Yarmouth and always lived in Norfolk He is an environmental and Charity advisor working on the climate change and sustainability agenda’s as well as Charity business planning and governance

He previously spent 24 years as Regional Director of the RSPB in the East of England. During this time, he oversaw the acquisition of 1000’s of Hectares of land and managed project teams to create over 10000 Ha of new nature reserves creating landscapes is his passion. Richard has also been Chair of the Regional Heritage Lottery Fund Committee for 9 years, a member pf the Broads Authority and Regional Forestry Advisory Committee and Chair of the Regional Sustainable Development Round Table

Richard currently is Chair of the Regional Flood and Coastal Communities Committee for Anglian (Eastern) Chair of the Ancient Tree Forum UK and Patron of the Papillion Project in Norfolk

Richard was awarded an OBE for his work in the Environment and Sustainability in June 2005 and is a Fellow of the Institute of Environmental Managers and Assessors and awarded Charted Environmentalist status by IEMA

I have worked in nature conservation for over 30 years, initially for BirdLife International and then for the RSPB. I left RSPB in 2019 to pursue a freelance career in ecology consultancy. My main conservation interests are in land management, species recovery and habitat restoration but I also have expertise in project management and commercial development. I live with my family near Fakenham, am a keen birder and general natural historian and can often be found on one of NWT’s many fantastic reserves. I was an NWT Council member between 2021 and 2024 but stood down at the last AGM due to an illness in the family. Fortunately, I am now able to stand again for election and look forward to another three years supporting NWT as trustee.

Scott has lived in Norfolk all his life, currently living in Norwich with his wife and four children. For 24 years Scott has been the Finance Director of a local financial services business, previously qualifying as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young. He is a Trustee of two Charities, and feels that this experience, along with his financial background makes him a useful addition to the Council. 

 

“I feel lucky to live in Norfolk with its diverse natural habitats and wildlife and wish to encourage more people to enjoy them and to help preserve them for future generations.”