Meet the Ribble Rivers Trust team, these are the staff delivering great projects on the rivers and countryside of Ribble catchment.
The data and evidence team
Ellie Brown Strategic Evidence & GIS Manager
Ellie is a Conservation GIS professional who specialises in developing landscape-scale analyses to target works where they are likely to have the greatest benefits for wildlife, the environment and people. Ellie also leads Ribble Rivers Trust’s Data and Evidence Team.
Ellie also manages a programme of Citizen Science activities and environmental monitoring works aimed at monitoring catchment health and evaluating the success of the Trust’s projects.
Ellie joined Ribble Rivers Trust in 2015 after completing a BSc (Hons) degree in Biology and an MSc degree in Biodiversity and Conservation at the University of Leeds. Forever a nature-nerd with a lifelong passion for wildlife, it was while at university that Ellie learned to use GIS: software that can be used to map location-based environmental and species data.
A local lass, Ellie was keen to utilise GIS as a tool to make the greatest impact she could on her local environment and beyond. She was initially taken on part-time as the GIS, Data and Evidence Officer for the Trust’s Ribble Life Together project but now uses data and evidence to support most aspects of the Trust’s work, including:
Developing landscape-scale GIS tools and analyses to help direct the Trust’s works, whether that’s woodland creation, hedgerow creation/restoration, wetland creation, in-river barrier removal, Natural Flood Management, education and community engagement or further environmental monitoring and Citizen Science work. Recent projects include CaSTCo and Ecological Regeneration in Lancashire.
Some of Ellie’s analysis methodologies and decision-support tools have been rolled out nationally for others to utilise, such as the Health and Wellbeing Evidence Base. Ellie has also presented on how the Trust uses location-based data and evidence to aid decision making at national Esri and SCIMAP conferences, and she has acted as a GIS and data consultant for other local and national environmental organisations, including CEFAS, local councils, the Forest of Bowland AONB, The Rivers Trust and Yorkshire Dales Millenium Trust.
Outside of her role at Ribble Rivers Trust, Ellie is a Trustee for another environmental & community-focused charity and volunteers as a dance teacher in her village. She also loves walking, cultivating her wildlife-friendly garden, and all things nature-related.
Henry Long Data & Evidence Officer
Henry’s role focuses on data collection, which he does by coordinating citizen scientists, managing the Water Rangers in the Ribble catchment, and through his own monitoring. Henry is a skilled ArcGIS and QGIS user as well as taking the lead with SCALGO software.
Henry is a Clitheroe native, he grew up practically on the banks of the Ribble and has deep ties to the area. He takes great pride in the natural beauty of the surrounding country, and has many connections throughout Lancashire. When not on Ribble Trust duty, Henry is studying for a Master’s degree in Conservation Management at Edge Hill University. His thesis is creating a Habitat Suitability Model for bats in Lancashire and Yorkshire, using data he helped to collect as part of the Trust’s citizen science bat surveys in the summer of 2022. Henry has previously gained a BA (hons) in History & Politics at Queen Mary University of London, before moving back home to Lancashire to pursue his other passions of conservation, tree hugging, and peace and quiet.
Henry started working with the Trust as a citizen scientist in the summer of 2022, before joining on a university placement the following year. Since then, he has moved into a part-time surveying role over the summer of 2023, before going full-time and being made the Data & Evidence Officer at the trust, all within the year. With the Trust, Henry is training to be able to deliver terrestrial baseline surveys for Nature-Based Solutions opportunities, to help push the Trust’s capabilities even further. Some of Henry’s other responsibilities include investigating riverfly trigger level breaches and reports from the public, as well as managing the various communications channels with volunteers and citizen scientists.
In his spare time, you may find Henry around the world on his travels and explorations, at a variety of gigs and concerts in the UK’s major cities, or simply relaxing out in the wilderness.
The Land management team
Kathryn Oddie Head of Land Management
As the Head of Land Management, Kathryn manages the farm and woodland teams. The team aims to work with farmers and landowners to reduce diffuse water pollution, increase wildlife, improve water quality and most importantly support farm businesses.
As well as managing the team, Kathryn continues to work on land management projects including the Loud Phosphate and Natural Flood Management project, Ribble and Douglas Farm advice, as well as supporting with woodland creation.
As a local farmer’s daughter, Kathryn has been able to use her knowledge of farming as well as agri environmental schemes and environmental monitoring that she gained from having previously worked at Natural England. Since joining the Ribble Rivers Trust staff team she has been able to develop her interest in soil and nutrient management. This means Kathryn is now a FACTS qualified advisor.
In her spare time, she likes to go walking in the local area as well as helping on the family farm.
Bethany Ryan Woodland Creation Admin Officer
Bethany works on the woodland team at the Trust. This involves doing the administration involved in woodland projects, as well as liaising with landowners, stakeholders and contractors regarding woodlands.
Bethany joined the team as a recent graduate from Lancaster University where she got her degree in Natural Sciences. During her first six months with the Trust Bethany worked closely with the Volunteer Supervisor as a Trainee. Throughout this time she helped with the practical delivery of woodlands, as well as with education by tree planting with school children.
Now on the woodland team, one of Bethany’s main responsibilities is screening potential woodlands to ensure they are located and designed in the best way to benefit the environment and the landowner, as well as meeting the Trust’s aims. Bethany then writes Environmental Appraisals to discuss all these benefits offered by each woodland, which are sent to the relevant stakeholders. In addition to this, Bethany helps with the applications, delivery and claims for the woodland projects.
Outside of work, Bethany loves walking, wild swimming and dancing.
Jonny Walker Land Management Project Officer
Jonny is a project officer in the land management team at Ribble Rivers Trust (RRT); working with the farm and woodland teams to link and buffer rivers and wetlands, woodland and shrubland in our agricultural landscape.
Through watercourse fencing, hedgerow and woodland creation or other land management interventions Jonny works from project design and contract tendering to procurement, delivery, and monitoring.
Having studied Marine Biology at Newcastle University Jonny then went on to volunteer and work for a number of conservation charities and bodies: National Trust, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Arnside and Silverdale AONB etc. Generally Jonny worked on the delivery of habitat creation, management, and monitoring across the upland, coastal and wetland habitats of Northern England.
Jonny has recently re-joined Ribble Rivers Trust from the Woodland Trust. When at the Woodland Trust Jonny managed a portfolio of sites across North and East Yorkshire, delivering a variety of work from day-to-day site management to collaborative sub-catchment scale natural flood management (NFM) interventions.
Currently, Jonny’s main focus is on the Deeper Connections partnership project with Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust. The project is aimed at continuing the work of the Long Preston Floodplain Project. As part of this he is working with farmers and land managers across Long Preston Floodplain (a.k.a Long Preston Deeps SSSI) to link and buffer habitat, improve water quality, as well as restore ten hectares of priority habitat within the ‘Deeps’.
In addition to Deeper Connections Jonny will be working to achieve RRT’s and the governments ambition to increase woodland and tree cover across the Ribble Catchment.
Away from work Jonny enjoys spending time with his young family, including Puddle the cocker spaniel, on walks, bike rides and, if he’s lucky, the odd pint of ale.
Heather Whalley Farm Advisor
Heathers day to day work involves working with landowners and stakeholders to deliver environmental works which tie in with the Trust’s efforts to improve Natural Flood Management and reduce Diffuse Water Pollution.
Chiefly Heather assists farmers with Countryside Stewardship applications, Sustainable Farming Incentive applications, and tries to source funding to support landowners delivering infrastructure to help reduce agricultural pollution and provide public goods through natural flood management opportunities.
Additionally she co-leads several of the trusts farm groups. Each of these groups provides training opportunities and exchanges information on current UK agriculture policy and grants. Competent to provide agricultural consultancy, she aims to support farmers with business planning, budgets, applying for grants, and using farmland economically for environmental outcomes.
Heather is also FACTs qualified advisor for nutrient and soil management advice and planning. Heathers passion for British agriculture stems from her own experience. Alongside her full-time position at the trust, she runs her own beef and sheep farm, as well as a self-service farm shop with her partner. Heather also has a background in environmental science. With a degree in zoology, she worked as a field ecologist prior to working for the trust. She is competent at botanical id, habitat surveying and environmental land management.
Outside the office Heather doesn’t stray too far from farming. Whenever she has free time, she likes to spend gardening, dancing, reading, and travelling.
The people and learning team
Neil Ashworth Education Officer
Neil joined in 2013 to help run the Rivers in the Classroom project as part of the URES project in Burnley, and is now developing an initiative to run fishing lessons in schools as well as helping to develop further educational activities that can be linked into school curriculums.
Rob joined the team as an apprentice through Ribble Life Together, gaining skills and knowledge through working at the Trust, and attending college. Rob is now a Volunteer Supervisor; planning activities, and delivering improvements across the catchment.
Jane is an outdoor learning officer working in the education team and leads on Coastal Explorers. Programme aims include; increased physical activity and health/wellbeing benefits to local primary school children, as well as key curriculum learning focussed around rivers.
Jane also supports delivery of the other classroom-based & outdoor learning such as Trout/River in the classroom, where schools can nurture and grow their own trout to release!
Jane joined the team from a community engagement background working for Lancashire Wildlife Trust, along the Wyre Coast. She has a BSc and MSc in Wildlife conservation from the university of Salford and has always strived to be a voice for nature. Originally from the Wyre area, Jane is keen to teach local children about the impact of human action on our rivers from source, to where it reaches the sea at Lytham.
As an outdoor education officer, Jane’s focus is on the Fylde coast and Ribble estuary, delivering unique learning opportunities for schools, connecting young people to rivers. Sessions will enable increased activity as well as ‘green thinking’ and promoting positive mental health through river & nature connectivity.
Alongside her role, Jane participates in Roller Derby at the weekend, is an avid reader and enjoys walking her dog Charlie along the Wyre coastline. Seasonally, she enjoys being a part of ‘toad patrol’, during which she volunteers to help hundreds of toads to cross busy roads during breeding season. She is an avid invertebrate enthusiast and can often be found trying to identify new moths.
Harvey Hamilton-Thorpe Head of People & Learning
Harvey joined Ribble Rivers Trust in 2015 and leads on partnership and engagement activities. Harvey manages environmental education, community projects, apprenticeships, work experience, health and safety, training and events.
When Harvey joined us he was the programme manager for Ribble Life Together. This project went on to win the coveted UK River Prize in 2022. He became Head of People and Learning in April 2020 and Deputy CEO of the Ribble Rivers Trust staff team in October 2021. Harvey leads on partnership and engagement activities. This includes volunteering, environmental education, community projects, apprenticeships, work experience, health and safety, training and events.
Harvey studied Environmental Management at Lancaster University and later earned a Post Graduate Certificate in Management from Uclan. After six years in the public sector looking after parks and green spaces, Harvey has spent the last thirteen years in various roles in the third sector. Furthermore he is a Member of the Institute of Leadership and Management (MInstLM), a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).
Helen Smith Community Projects & Activities Officer
As Community Projects & Activities Officer, Helen engages with the public about all things rivers. Helen involves local communities in the work of the Trust via face-to-face events, activities and workshops, but also through information boards, digital events and social media.
With a background in community engagement in the environment sector, Helen joined the team in 2018 to help deliver the engagement aspects of the Ribble Life Together programme. At first this role saw Helen leading guided walks throughout the Ribble catchment, organising access improvements to help people enjoy rivers, commissioning art installations and creating interpretation panels. Following this Helen now leads health walks and community activities through our HEAL project. She is also linking up with communities along the River Darwen in our Darwen Evidence and Engagement Priorities project (DEEP).
Having grown up in the Ribble Valley, Helen is proud to be delivering environmental improvements so close to home. When she’s not exploring the Lancashire countryside with her dog Eric, Helen loves to bake.
The River Conservation team
Guy Mason Project Manager
Guy joined the Ribble Rivers Trust in May 2022. Guy’s main role is to manage the capital works projects, these include fish passes and weir removals, habitat creation and natural flood management.
Once Guy completed his degree (Hons) in Wildlife and Conservation Management, Guy worked for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust and managed reserves for 7 years delivering several catchment-wide community engagement projects. He then spent 2 years managing Lincolnshire’s EU LIFE and Lottery Funded Dynamic Dunescapes Project. An unquestionably excellent engager and communicator, Guy demonstrates a long history of successful working partnerships with farmers, landowners, and professional, statutory and regulatory bodies.
Guys current duties are to develop and deliver the physical improvement projects and programmes for the River Conservation Team. Past projects include the excavation and reseeding of gravels at the Langden Intake. Guy is currently working towards the completion of Pottery Terrace and Gathurst fish passes, the last 2 of 8 fish passes as part of the OUR Douglas Project.
When not working on the rivers, Guy is thoroughly enjoying exploring Lancashire’s countryside and getting to know the people here. Another big hobby is his love for playing and listening to live music, something that Lancashire has in abundance!
Adam Walmsley Acting Head of River Conservation
Adam is another long member of the Ribble Rivers Trust’s staff team. Having started as a volunteer in 2008, in 2011 he completed his Master Dissertation with the Trust. Adam then joined the team as the Lancashire INNS project officer before taking on capital projects.
Between 2017 and 2020 Adam created 30 woodlands and delivered 15 wetland and 14 fish pass projects as part of the Ribble Life Together programme.
Adam Wheeler Fisheries Officer
Adam is the Fisheries Monitoring Lead, responsible for delivering and reporting on the Trusts annual electric fishing programme. Outputs from these surveys help identify and support future works on the catchment as well as monitoring the impacts of river restoration.
When not splashing about in rivers Adam manages and supports the delivery of fish pass projects and the removal of manmade barriers. This work improves river connectivity so that fish can migrate to optimal spawning and foraging habitats.
Adam was first involved with the trust as a survey assistant while studying for his Bsc (hon) in biology at Salford University. After graduating, he spent time in a number of analytical roles working in laboratories before joining the Trust full time in 2017. In addition to his day to day, Adam works for the consultancy arm of the Trust, providing stock assessments, project monitoring and fish rescues for in river works.
Through project work Adam has delivered one of England’s widest weir removals on the Main Stem Ribble near Samlesbury – funded through the Water Environment Grant. He has also provided the monitoring and summative assessment for Primrose Lodge Blue and Greenway Project. For this he evaluated how the project has impacted the conservational status of Mearley Brook and local public enjoyment of the newly developed nature reserve. Currently Adam is working on ‘Opening Up the River Douglas’. This is a suite of 8 civil engineering projects to modify artificial structures to reduce the impacts of habitat fragmentation within the River Douglas.
During his free time Adam is a prolific hill ticker, avid climber and . . . yes . . can still be found in a river, fishing.
The core services team
Charlotte Ireland Pope Fundraising and Administration Officer
Charlotte is a fundraising officer at Ribble Rivers Trust. Generally, Charlotte’s day-to-day work involves building relationships with corporate partners, and individuals, to raise money for the Trust’s endeavours.
Additionally, Charlotte also creates web content and blog posts, manages the Trust’s social media channels, and helps to organise press and publicity opportunities.
Charlotte joined the team whilst embarking on a degree in Land Management and Conservation as an adult learner. Initially working part time, once completing her education Charlotte moved onto working full time, assisting with administration and finance management. Thanks to her previous experience in sales related roles, Charlotte was able to take the helm and develop a fundraising strategy. This is in the process of being implemented.
In addition to her own duties, Charlotte also assists with the day-to-day administration of the Trust, working on numerous projects to ensure that everything continues to run smoothly. In fact, as one of the longer serving members of the Ribble Rivers Trust’s staff team Charlotte knows the inner workings of the Trust like no one else.
Outside of the world of Ribble Rivers Trust Charlotte spends her free time exploring the UK, and the Ribble catchment, with her dog Otto. Together they kayak, paddleboard and travel on foot. But sometimes they simply relax in her wildlife friendly garden with a good book!
Catherine Jaggs is one of the longest-standing members of the Ribble Rivers Trust’s staff team, having worked there for over a decade. Over the years, she’s been involved in almost every aspect of the Trust’s work, from tree planting and ecological monitoring, to publicity and partner relations.
Catherine prides herself on being the backbone of the Trust, doing the ‘behind the scenes’ work that allows her colleagues to deliver their projects efficiently and effectively.
Catherine has always had a passion for the natural world. She obtained a BSc in Physical Geography from Aberystwyth University, studying topics such as conservation and land management, fluvial geomorphology, soil systems and climate change. Having lived in the Ribble Catchment all her life, she knows the area well, and is eager to preserve and improve its natural assets for generations to come.
Heading up the core operations team, Catherine now takes care of the bulk of the HR admin and is heavily involved in the day to day finances of the Trust, including working closely with funders to ensure grant monies are claimed and spent appropriately. Producing the Trust’s Annual Newsletter is one of Catherine’s favourite jobs of the year, writing articles about all of the wonderful projects her colleagues have delivered and sharing it far and wide. Now with two youngsters in tow, Catherine’s hobbies have mellowed somewhat from her days of climbing mountains, overseas travel adventures and wild weekends at music festivals! For now, she loves nothing more than a family walk, inspiring her children to learn and care about wildlife, and more often than not, finishing up in a pub for a pint and chips..
Jack Spees Director and CEO
Jack is at the head of the Ribble Rivers Trust staff team. Having started at the Ribble Rivers Trust in 2008 as the Fisheries Scientist Jack was made Trust Director in 2010. Jack now oversees the work undertaken by the Trust and the team as well as providing a wealth of information on all aspects of the river environment.
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