Camilla Burrow
Camilla joined us in June 2020 from Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre where she was Director for almost ten years. Camilla is an Ecologist with experience of confidently dealing with the conflicting deadlines and demands from all the aspects of running a small organisation and managing a team of scientific staff.
Before TVERC, Camilla spent four years as the ecologist planner for Oxfordshire County Council where she gained significant experience in ecology and planning, providing insight into the political and resource pressures under which government and charitable organisations work. Both roles involved resolving challenging problems and engaging with stakeholders with a wide range of priorities.
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Clare Mowbray
Clare grew up in a farming family. After a Business Studies degree, Marketing Diploma and many years working in the charity fundraising sector in London she moved back to the countryside to work for Wild Oxfordshire.
Clare’s past career with marketing agencies means that she has a wide experience of fundraising for charities. To gain an understanding of conservation she completed Oxford University’s two year Diploma in Environmental Conservation.
Laura Murphy
Laura joined Wild Oxfordshire in June 2023 as Administrator. Previously, she was volunteering at the Earth Trust as part of their events team alongside her practice as a ceramic artist and pottery teacher. Laura draws inspiration from plants, insects and birdlife for her ceramics and was delighted to be able to work at Wild Oxfordshire alongside others who shared this interest. She continues to practice as a ceramic artist and teaches pottery classes alongside her work at Wild Oxfordshire. She enjoys working for environmental charities and previously worked at Global Canopy as Finance and Admin Officer.
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Ann Berkeley
Ann started working for Wild Oxfordshire in 2018, and in addition to the hosting and co-ordination role, she specialises in river restoration, wetland creation and natural flood management.
Ann is a chartered Landscape architect with experience of a wide range of landscape projects in both design and project management. These have ranged from new build to restoration projects. She has worked as a consultant to the Vale of White Horse District Council developing public open spaces ranging from formal parkland to community woodlands including obtaining grant funding for delivery.
Rachel Crookes
Rachel joined Wild Oxfordshire in March 2024 as our Nature Recovery Lead, managing our Community Ecology programme and partnership working. Through her experience working in both a consultancy and local authority setting, she has worked with many different environmental groups and gained an understanding of the opportunities for nature recovery in urban and rural contexts. In the warmer months of the year, Rachel can be found ringing chicks at nature reserves as part of long-term monitoring projects during the day, and detecting bats at night.
Imogen Parker
Imogen is our Community Ecologist focusing on ecological advice and surveys. Imogen has worked in ecology/nature conservation for over 17 years and has a particular interest in botany. She has been an active member of her community nature group for several years and brings this experience to the role at Wild Oxfordshire. Imogen has been fascinated by natural history since she was a small child and was given an area of garden to look after at 5 years old by her parents. She has a good knowledge of the geography of the country due to previous jobs roles requiring site visits across Oxfordshire.
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Rhiannon Young
Rhiannon’s mission from an early age was to become a ‘translator’, wanting to interpret nature’s needs, and to then ‘translate’ them to people and communities, and vice versa, with the aim to help create conservation strategies that would benefit everyone.
Therefore, after attaining a degree in ‘Wildlife Conservation’, Rhiannon first became an Ecologist and then a Forest Schools Leader. It was around this time that she truly discovered her love of inspiring others to see and understand the splendour of the wildlife around them – engaging them in the marvels and magic of nature. Later, she became an Engagement Officer for her local Wildlife Trust. She is now excited to be working on Wild Oxfordshire’s Engagement vision.
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Jessica Bouwer
Jessica joined Wild Oxfordshire in June 2023 as the Hedgerows and Partnerships Officer. Her love for nature motivated her to pursue a career in environmental conservation where she completed a BSc Hons in Zoology followed by an MSc in Conservation and Biodiversity at the university of Leeds. She has experience working with different community groups through her volunteering roles during school, university and after graduating. Alongside her role at Wild Oxfordshire, Jessica is a freelance entomologist, identifying insects with a focus on Diptera, for the Yellow Wagtail Partnership.
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Mike Pollard
Mike is most at home “in the field” watching wildlife, with notebook and camera close to hand. He has thirty years experience working for RSPB focusing on the management and development of nature reserves, including the fabulous Otmoor. Now working freelance, Mike leads our Curlew Recovery partnership initiative across the Upper Thames and supports the development of our recently-formed group of Nature Recovery Business Ambassadors. He also Tweets from time to time – @mikepnature
Read his latest publication: "The changing fortunes of Curlews..."
Sophie Cunnington
Born in Wantage and raised on the Oxfordshire/Wiltshire border, Sophie’s childhood was spent climbing trees and rescuing animals and so her journey into wildlife and conservation began. She has a BSc Hons in Environmental Science and after completing a MSc in Marine Environmental Management, her love of trees and birds brought her back to the terrestrial world. Alongside her work at Wild Oxfordshire, Sophie is completing a PhD at the University of Reading where she is working to understand Yellow Wagtail breeding and foraging ecology in lowland England. Her findings will inform management decisions for the Yellow Wagtail Partnership.
Eoghan Concannon
Eoghan joined the team in early 2022 coming from Galway, Ireland and is continuing his work with river catchments and environmental community groups as our ECP (Evenlode Catchment Partnership) Project Officer. With a love of rivers, landscapes and involving people in river restoration, he studied a Bachelor of Arts in Geography, Sociology and Politics and a Master of Science in Environmental Leadership that focused on hydromorphology and aquatic ecology.
He is currently continuing his professional development as an ecologist with CIEEM. Eoghan was drawn to the ECP due its vision to restore the Catchment to good ecological status, the project’s community involvement, and the long term and far-reaching, potential benefits of the partnership for wildlife and communities.
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David Knight
David moved to Oxfordshire in 2011 with his post at the Open University. He has since left the Open University and is pursuing a different career as a self-employed craftsperson, especially interested in woodland crafts.
He is the local organiser for the Association of Pole Lathe Turners and Green Woodworkers. Prior to joining the Open University David was Chief Executive of Northumberland Wildlife Trust and before that worked in University adult continuing education in Newcastle and Southampton, running programmes in science, environment and natural history.
David has been a trustee and Chair of several educational and environmental charities. He is a Parish Councillor for Eynsham and volunteer for the Wychwood Forest Trust and Hill End Outdoor Education Centre.
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Mike Russell FMCA
Retired at the end of 2014 after a career in Financial Management of 48 Years including 22 years as a Finance Director within the Oxford Instruments Group and the last 9 years as the Finance Director of the Zoological Society of London the conservation charity.
Currently Mike is Trustee/Treasurer of two charities, the Cartoon Museum and The Postal Museum (both from 2015).
Previously Mike was the Trustee/Treasurer of the Campaign for National Parks (2012-18) and a Non-executive Director in the NHS for 14 years (1992-2006). Living in Abingdon and married to Sue for 48 years, they have two grown up children and four granddaughters. Mike and Sue enjoy travel, theatre, keeping fit and walking in the countryside including membership of the Ramblers association.
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Nick Rowe
Nick has spent his entire working life in the large corporate world and has acted as Group Company Secretary of a number of publicly listed multi-national companies. He has broad based senior corporate experience across the commercial and legal spectrum, also encompassing corporate governance and risk management.
Nick holds a first degree in politics and economics, a second degree in law and is a professionally qualified company secretary. Having recently retired from full time permanent employment he now undertakes short term project and consultancy work. Nick has a passion for the natural world coupled with a strong interest in wildlife and its conservation. In particular he has been an enthusiastic ornithologist since the age of ten.
Pete Cranston
After teaching and managing in post 16 education, internationally and in the UK, Pete Cranston retrained in IT and worked for 25 years in International Development Cooperation, with international and UK organisations, from the enormous to the tiny. Freelance from 2005, he supported organisations across their management functions with a particular focus on organisational and programme learning projects, workshops and events. He supported global Climate Change Adaptation research programmes and sees the Climate Crisis as a crucial frame for Nature Renewal. An RSPB volunteer, Pete has served on international and UK Trustee Boards and chaired in Oxford a range of Primary School Governing Body and a Political Party Branch.
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Fiona Danks
Fiona moved to South Oxfordshire in 1985, following an ecology degree in Edinburgh and a PGCE in Bath. She worked as Education Officer at BBOWT (then BBONT) for four years, then spent several years raising young children and doing home-based work including some writing.
From 1998 to 2020, she ran the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment, overseeing the allocation of about £8 million to a wide range of environmental projects across the county. She is also co-author of the successful Going Wild books, inspiring children and families to explore and reconnect with the natural world. Previous voluntary roles have included school governor and trustee of BBOWT.
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Vicky Robinson
Vicky is Director, Technical for LEAF (Linking Environment and Farming) leading the delivery of LEAF’s technical strategic growth covering LEAF Marque certification and sustainable farming knowledge generation and exchange. Vicky previously worked for Natural England and its predecessors for 22 years where her work focused on agri-environment schemes both as an adviser and latterly providing technical expertise to Defra during the development of Countryside Stewardship and the Environmental Land Management schemes. As a 2019 Nuffield Farming Scholar Vicky’s topic was ‘Farmer to Farmer Knowledge Exchange: Relevance and challenges during change’ which was inspired by a group of farmers she was working with on a Payment by Results pilot. Vicky is a trustee of Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust in addition to Wild Oxfordshire.
Ebony Holland
Ebony Holland is the Nature-Climate Policy Lead at the International Institute for Environment and Development, where she works across the institute and with partners to influence greater ambition in international biodiversity, climate change and sustainable development policy and finance forums. Ebony is from Australia, and before moving to Oxford in 2020, spent 16 years working across government, international development organisations, the United Nations and the private sector in Australia, the Pacific, Europe and the United Kingdom. She has a passion for nature, community action and justice. Ebony loves hiking and loves English pubs, and on most weekends you'll find her enjoying both around Oxfordshire with her husband and rescue dog.
Frances Brindle
Frances has a background in marketing in fundraising, most recently as Marketing Director at the British Library, and currently works as a consultant. Frances is passionate about conservation and the environment and was previously at trustee for BBOWT. When she isn’t working she enjoys walking in the Oxfordshire countryside with her husband and her rescue dog. She also volunteers for a local wildlife rescue and is writing a novel.
Nicola Hindle
Nicola has lived on and off in West Oxfordshire since her teen years, following a mathematics degree and an accountancy qualification. She has spent her career to date working in various businesses across large infrastructure, engineering and utilities. Recently spending more time at home in Oxfordshire and with a growing desire to do something positive to help nature. "Being appointed as a trustee is an honour to be part of this organisation's journey. I look forward to supporting Camilla and the team to enable a more natural, resilient and biodiverse Oxfordshire"
Sarah Leatherbarrow
Sarah is passionate about sustainability and protecting nature and the environment. With over twenty years’ experience in global non-profit, B2B and B2C organisations, including over three years as global head of communications at CDP, she is looking forward to working with the talented team at Wild Oxfordshire and supporting them as a trustee.
