Trustees

George Levvy was appointed Chair of the Board of Trustees at BBOWT in 2021. He brings experience of senior management and governance, both as a practitioner and consultant, and is the Chair of the Board at Rewilding Britain. George started his career as a junior hospital doctor and has held several senior roles including at the British Red Cross and Chief Executive at the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

George is married with two adult children. He is passionate about rewilding and in his spare time enjoys playing tennis, singing, walking and painting.

Jolyon Austin joined the Board of Trustees in 2023 and currently serves as Vice Chair. He also chairs the Governance and Nominations Committee. Jolyon has been a management consultant for over 22 years with Ernst & Young and Accenture; prior to that he worked in supply chain operations for eight years and started his career with the Royal Engineers.

Jolyon enjoys exploring the local area and its diverse spaces and habitats. He is married with two children and lives in the Chilterns with their two dogs. He is a keen gardener and has been to every continent including Antarctica, where he fell in love with the penguins!

Zoe Hancock joined BBOWT as a Trustee in 2022 and is also BBOWT’s Honorary Treasurer. She has worked in a number of settings including the British Museum and as Principal of a further education college in Oxford.

Zoe has always enjoyed nature and joining BBOWT felt like a great opportunity to use some of her skills in supporting a charity that really makes a difference locally. She loves being able to see the foxes, deer and red kites on the grass opposite her house, and feels very fortunate to be so close to nature on a daily basis.

Drew Bennellick became a Trustee at BBOWT in 2021. His current role as Head of Land, Sea and Nature Policy at The National Lottery Heritage Fund affords opportunities to meet amazing people passionate about nature. Nine years working for Historic England taught him about the conservation of historic landscapes and how they often encompass and protect some of our most ancient and precious habitats.

As a landscape architect, Drew has a passion for design, but too often he sees wildlife not being properly considered. BBOWT helps him to learn whilst allowing him to share his knowledge of urban landscapes. Drew lives in the Chilterns and is a keen gardener and walker.

Samuel Burgh was appointed to the board of trustees in March 2024. He brings experience across a range of industries as a research analyst. Samuel started his career as a Health/Tech Business Analyst and has held several roles since, currently he works as an Investment Associate at Oxford University Innovation, securing seed investments for the companies of next year.

This is Samuel’s first role as a Trustee and he hopes to bring fresh eyes and a new perspective to the organisation. He is passionate about rewilding, tennis, art and learning new languages.

Mark Chacksfield was appointed as Trustee in 2022. He has been a barrister since 2000, mostly litigating high technology patent cases, and became a KC in 2019. Mark wanted to be part of BBOWT as he knows nature is under enormous pressure, and BBOWT is a hugely proactive, effective and visionary organisation, which provides optimism that the world, and our three counties, can be better.

Mark is married with three children and a dog. When he finds time in his busy life, Mark enjoys running, travel (with a limited carbon footprint), meals out and music. He also thinks social insects are super cool!

Garth Clark was appointed to be a Trustee at BBOWT in 2022. He has worked on estates in Buckinghamshire, the Cotswolds, Kent, Somerset and Scotland, building on his formative years in practical agriculture. Garth’s current appointment is with the Althorp Estate in Northamptonshire, supporting Lord and Lady Spencer to enhance and nurture the aesthetics and conservational value of the historic estate. His farming background and organic experience has given him a unique conservation perspective, combining commercial farming and land management, with a strong environmental respect and appreciation of natural capital.

Garth has two daughters who both share his love for the great outdoors and he lives in a converted lorry, which he intends to drive down the Pan-American Highway.

Tim Davies joined BBOWT as a Trustee in 2022. He has been involved in a range of ecological research and natural resource management projects over the past 20 years. Tim has expertise in the management and monitoring of fisheries and he currently works at the Marine Stewardship Council, where he is responsible for a standard for sustainable fishing.

Tim is a keen birder and enjoys watching the countryside around him change throughout the year. He lives in the Buckinghamshire countryside with his family, where they enjoy searching for bugs and frogs in their garden.

Simon Dickson was co-opted to the Board in July 2024. Simon started his career with The Wildlife Trusts and brings conservation passion with fundraising expertise. He has worked in fundraising at organisations from Kew Gardens and the Natural History Museum to the Eden Project, and has been a Trustee at the Galapagos Conservation Trust and Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust.

Simon enjoys taking wildlife holidays, gardening and used to be a competitive figure skater!

Miles Evans has been a Trustee since 2021, sitting on several working groups, including advising on enhancing business relations. With the family home nestled between three BBOWT reserves, Miles and his young family enjoy spending time in nature. Throughout his career, Miles has focused on delivering social good. Firstly, working in parliament, and latterly leading public relations functions for some of the UK's largest firms. He sits on the board of the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA) and is an accredited member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR). Miles was elected as a councillor in 2015, serving as deputy leader until 2019.

In his spare time, Miles and his family raise funds for research into Parkinson’s, raising £20,000 since 2018.

Natalie Ganpatsingh was appointed as a Trustee at BBOWT in 2020. She studied philosophy and trained as a Forest School leader before setting up Nature Nurture, a Reading-based award-winning creative social enterprise, rooted in nature, wellbeing and connecting communities to the green spaces and waterways around them. Natalie’s mission is to enhance the wellbeing of urban dwellers by engaging and connecting them with nature on their doorstep.

Natalie loves being in nature with her husband and teenage children and has a particular interest in ancient woodland.

Subash was elected in July 2024, he recognises the need to protect/manage nature in all its forms. He is passionate about responsibly increasing biodiversity/bioabundance in nature and believes he can support BBOWT in their strategic plan.

Subash has over 34 years of experience in Operational Risk Management and has held senior board level positions. He has been running an international consultancy for over 22 years and is proud of making a difference with his interactions with others.

Subash holds and has held several other volunteering and trustee roles. He loves walking in nature in the UK and overseas and seeing diverse forms of flora and fauna.

Subash was born in the year of the Fire Horse and is married with two children. He is a keen cyclist and walker. He plays tennis and badminton and loves to work on DIY projects and develop his gardening skills.

Amy Padfield joined BBOWT as a trustee in 2024. Amy has a background in zoology and ecology, and has worked for multiple charities within the ecology and conservation sector. Over that time Amy has developed expertise in education, careers, and training relating to climate change and biodiversity. She has a particular interest in nature connection and is dedicated to supporting youth-led initiatives to create change and inspire others.

Amy has a lifelong passion for all wildlife, especially plants, fungi, and hedgehogs! She lives in Buckinghamshire with her family, including two young sons who have a particular love of visiting the Aston Clinton Ragpits to search for Roman snails, orchids, and slow worms.

Greg Webster joined BBOWT as a Trustee in 2020, sits on the Finance and Audit Committee, and chairs the Trust’s ecological consultancy Future Nature WTC. He also represented Trustees during development of the Biodiversity Net Gain/Habitat Banking strategy and the national RSWT Climate Change strategy. Greg has worked across multiple industries in creative, design, sales and marketing, and management roles. His most rewarding career highlight was helping establish environmental stewardship as a key pillar of business ethos.

Greg is fascinated by indigenous cultures and wisdom traditions, and has been a meditator in Daoist and Tibetan Buddhist lineages for the past 20 years.