BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
Anneloes Martinsen
Trustee and Chair
Anneloes has experience of working in challenging and multi-disciplinary teams. In addition to her master's degrees in biology and biochemistry, she has a PhD in biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences awarded by the University of Louvain in Belgium. Whilst doing her PhD, she also graduated from the Cercles des Naturalistes de Belgique and obtained her nature guide certificate in 2012. She moved to the UK in 2015 and worked at the University of East Anglia in Norwich as a senior research associate for almost 4 years, where she also obtained an Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy in 2018. She then volunteered with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust education team at Lackford Lakes and still maintains strong relationships with the team.
Her passion and dedication for nature and education were rewarded as she was made Fellow of the British Naturalists' Association in December 2023.
David Cammaerts
Trustee
David is a hydrobiologist and teacher by professional training. He has a master in biological sciences and a master in environmental management awarded by the University of Brussels in Belgium. He is a consultant and project adviser involved in development cooperation projects around Europe and African countries. He contributes to scientific research activities focused on water management and water quality in DRCongo and Tunisia. He also graduated from the Cercles des Naturalistes de Belgique and obtained his nature guide certificate in 2013.
Lee Fletcher
Trustee
Lee grew up in Perth, Western Australia, enjoying perfect sandy beaches, sunsets over the ocean, and nature right on the doorstep.
After studying biology, neuroscience and pharmacology at the University of Western Australia, Lee moved to the other side of the continent to carry out his PhD in neuroscience – working in Brisbane at the Queensland Brain Institute with renowned neurophysiologist Professor Stephen Williams. Together, they worked to understand how neurons in the brain analyse and compute visual and cognitive information. During this time, he and Prof. Williams also headed the annual Australian Course in Advanced Neuroscience which gave hands-on teaching in specialised experimental techniques to early career researchers on a subtropical island off the coast of Queensland for a month.
He then moved to the UK to take up a research position at the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour at University College London.
After reflecting upon life Lee decided to take a sabbatical from neuroscience research to spend some time working in other areas close to his heart. His passion for nature and biodiversity led to him joining our board as a trustee in July 2020
Laura Benstead
Trustee
Laura started off as a volunteer with BEES in 2022 helping with the outdoor learning sessions. After a year of volunteering she has stepped up to become a Trustee of the charity. Outside of BEES, Laura is a student with the Open University, completing a Combined STEM degree, focusing on Environmental Science
OUR TEAM.
Jasmine Canham
Advisory Trustee
Born and raised in Suffolk, Jasmine has been exploring its wildlife reserves ever since she was born. She has just finished college studying music but is looking to take her education further in a more conservation based subject and has applied to university to study Wildlife, Ecology and Conservation Science.
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Jasmine has recently stepped down from the board of trustees so that she can focus on her studies ahead of attending university this year. However she is an important member of the team who's measured viewpoint and enthusiasm for BEES is greatly appreciated by the chair and other trustees. As such she remains involved with Biodiversity and Environmental Education Society in an advisory capacity.
OUR TEACHERS.
Steven Rutherford
Nature guide methodology
Steven is the Honorary Chairman of the British Naturalists Association (BNA). He was awarded the Richard Fitter Memorial medal in 2015 for his work in natural history education and is also a Fellow of the BNA. He worked for the RSPB as an Information Officer at the prestigious Old Moor nature reserve for 10 years before retiring and is now a volunteer for the Suffolk Wild Life Trust.
His interests in natural history are wide but specialises in herpetology, entomology and cecidology. In 2021 he had his first book published - “How to Begin the Study of Plant Galls”.
Farah Lodhi
Hydrobiology
Sustainable Development
Farah has an Individual Professional award MSc Water Management and governance with the climate, development and environmental policy dept. from S.O.A.S London, and believes the only way to better adapt to climate change is through having a core understanding of water systems in our biosphere.
After graduating from Reading University with a BA in English Literature, she worked in China. She studied Chinese obtaining her masters in Chinese studies at Newcastle University. Her research in China concerned migration and exile. She taught I.B at an international school in Shanghai, with a focus on Globalisation and Sustainability. She has travelled extensively working for NGOS in Kenya, China and Indonesia collaborating with Fauna and Flora International, Mataram University utilising her water expertise on water projects (British American Tobacco) with local community forestry programs. She is also a qualified yoga teacher, and is co-director of outdoor and environmental international student exchange programme, E.A.P. She has completed her Carbon Literacy training and is Carbon Literate – also hoping to share relevant climate science with BEES, participants and staff.
Tim Holt-Wilson
Geology & Geomorphology
Tim Holt-Wilson works freelance in the field of environmental heritage interpretation and information management, including museums. He is active in geological conservation in Norfolk, and has authored books and magazine articles about geology and landforms in East Anglia, notably 'Norfolk’s Earth Heritage' (2010), 'Tides of Change – Two million years on the Suffolk Coast' (2014) and 'The Brecks Earth Heritage Trail' (2017). He is a member of the Quaternary Research Association and the Geological Society of Norfolk. He is passionate about communicating the value of the Earth as a record of environmental history.
John Noel
Ecology
John did a degree in Zoology, specialising in Ecology, at University College of Wales Aberystwyth before moving to Durham where he spent a year working on the ecology of lapwings in Teesdale. From 1974, John taught science in Northamptonshire, specialising in Biology (to A Level), before moving to Cambridgeshire in 1989 to manage examinations and assessments in the sciences for examination boards which eventually became OCR. John retired from OCR at the end of 2011 as Qualifications Group Manager, leading a team of over 20 staff responsible for all OCR’s qualifications in maths and the sciences. Since retiring, John has divided his time between consultancy work for OCR and CIE (which administers examinations internationally) and voluntary work for Suffolk Wildlife Trust (mostly with school groups and families visiting the Lackford Lakes reserve) and for RSPB’s stone curlew project in the Brecks. John’s interests are photography, walking, bird watching and natural history.
Dr Tony Leech
Mycology
Tony taught Biology in schools for 27 years and since retiring 15 years ago has led over a hundred fungus forays and tutored more than 50 fungus identification workshops. He is also involved in running the Norfolk & Norwich Naturalists Society.
As County Fungus Recorder he collates and passes on records for fungi in Norfolk as well as helping others with identifications.
Dr Lewis Peake
Soil Science
Lewis has a PhD in Soil Science from the University of East Anglia, is a self-employed soil scientist and tutor, and an active member of the British Society for Soil Science (BSSS). His recent work includes teaching on various modules at UEA, as well as conducting soil surveys for Agricultural Land Classification (ALC), but he has had a varied background which includes IT consultancy and book illustration. In 2019 he was the lecturer on the BSc module Soil Processes and Environmental Issues, in the School of Environmental Sciences, although his teaching has covered many aspects of land-based natural resources and sustainable land use, including carbon management and the impacts of climate change. Over the years Lewis has worked or liaised with several farmers and built up a network of farming contacts in East Anglia.
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Lewis is the author of eight peer-reviewed publications. His research interests have included biochar, soil erosion, soil organic matter, land evaluation methodology, environmental impact, and archaeology. In 2014 he was a postdoctoral researcher on the NERC urgency project: Impacts of the December 2013 storm surge on the North Norfolk Coast. He is especially interested in evaluating and protecting soil as part of our natural capital and he is currently affiliated with the Royal Society Newton-funded project: Sustaining the land from the ground up: developing soil ecosystem services valuation frameworks for tropical soils, with partners in Brazil.
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Lewis is a keen gardener and happy to advise anyone on the dark art of composting!
Dr Tim Gardiner
Entomology
Born in Norfolk, Tim moved to Essex in 1997 to study conservation at Writtle College near Chelmsford, obtaining a PhD in Entomology in 2006. While studying at the College he worked as a lecturer in conservation and also as a researcher, roles which saw him initiate the Essex Glow-worm Survey in 2001. After a brief stint as an ecology lecturer at Nottingham Trent University, he has worked as a biodiversity officer at the Environment Agency since 2009, a role which sees him involved with maintaining and enhancing the ecological interest of rivers and seawalls in Essex. Working with consultant ecologists Tim developed a Seawall Biodiversity Handbook which was published in 2015 and is undertaking a long-term study of the response of bumblebees to seawall mowing. Tim was made a Fellow of the British Naturalists' Association (BNA) in 2007 and was awarded the David Bellamy Award in 2013 by the BNA for his significant contribution to conservation and the study of natural history.
Tim's first book 'Hopping back to happiness?' published in 2009 dealt with the conservation of our declining farmland grasshoppers, a subsequent book 'Glowing, glowing, gone?' published by the BNA in 2011 reported the results of a 10-year survey of Essex's glow-worms. A book ‘The Natural History of Waveney Forest’ was released by Forrest Text in 2014 and helped document the wildlife of this important Broadland site threatened by development. Tim is a widely published poet, editor, essayist and children’s author with two books written for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust (The Voyage of the Queen Bee and The Pin Mill Pirates).
Stephanie Hartick
Forestry
Stephanie is a Chartered Member of the Landscape Institute and has worked in landscape design, conservation and restoration projects in New Zealand, Costa Rica, Germany and UK.
Stephanie is the founder and Executive Director of Art Branches cic, a social enterprise that connects people with their environment through supported creative projects to improve health and well-being. Stephanie acts as the creative director for the enterprise and specialises in mental health recovery environmental intervention programmes.
Dr David Horsley
Ornithology
David was always interested in wildlife from an early age and was fortunate to go to a school with a bird club. That set him off on a Biological career - Zoology at UCL, PhD at Nottingham in Evolutionary Genetics and Biology teaching at Gresham’s School, where he ended up as Head of Department. During that time David continued with Natural History, especially with birds, and took school parties regularly to bird watch around Norfolk, but mostly of course at Cley.
David has always been interested in photography and has an extensive slide library, but on retirement digital was just coming in and his output increased no end. He also began giving Wildlife talks around Norfolk and beyond and longer Wildlife/ Biology courses for the WEA. Birds form a big part of David's repertoire, but there is always a strong accent on the biology especially ecology and evolution. Giving his work a more holistic approach. David enjoys teaching adults, something that began in Nottingham many years ago, and was fortunate to get into Cruise Lecturing too, so his portfolio of talks goes well beyond Europe. David now gives all his talks in aid of Norfolk Wildlife Trust.
Prof Tom Williamson
Human Geography
Tom read History and Archaeology at the University of Cambridge, where he also took his PhD. In 1984 he moved to the University of East Anglia, where he is now Professor of Landscape History in the School of History. He is a landscape historian with very wide interests, embracing landscape archaeology, agricultural history, and the history of landscape design. Much of his work has been at the interface of history and the environmental sciences. In particular, he has championed – against more fashionable approaches in the humanities – the importance of the natural environment in shaping the character of regional landscapes, societies and farming systems; and he has sought to examine a range of key ‘semi-natural’ habitats and landscape features within their historical contexts, including meadows, veteran trees, hedges and ancient woodland. His publications include Rabbits, Warrens and Archaeology (2007); An Environmental History of Wildlife in England (London, 2013); and, with Gerry Barnes, Hedgerow History: ecology, history and landscape character (2006); Ancient Trees in the Landscape: Norfolk’s arboreal heritage (2011); Rethinking Ancient Woodland (Hatfield, 2015); and Trees in England: management and disease since 1600 (Hatfield, 2017).
Darren Tansley
Mammalogy
Darren Tansley was born in South Essex but grew up in the Dedham Vale on the Essex/Suffolk border where he spent a great deal of his time on (or in) the River Stour. His introduction to nature conservation was in 1988 as a Greenpeace volunteer rescuing seals with the newly formed British Divers Marine Life Rescue. After obtaining a degree in Conservation Management at Writtle College he helped set up the Essex and Suffolk Dormouse Group and began a systematic water vole survey of all the Essex River Catchments.
In 2007 Darren joined Essex Wildlife Trust where he is River Catchment Coordinator working on the Essex Otter Survey, Water Vole Recovery Project, Fish Migration Roadmap and the Essex Beaver release at Spains Hall, Finchingfield. Nationally he chairs the UK Water Vole Steering Group and is also involved with developing a new multi-species mammal survey technique through eDNA metabarcoding of water samples. His author credits include contributions to The Mammals of Suffolk, co-authoring the Mammals of Essex as well as a 2020 peer reviewed paper in Mammal Review on the evidence for mink decline in the UK. He now lives near Woodbridge with his wife, two insane boxers and a house full of musical instruments.
Robert Yaxley
Nature Conservation and Management
Bryology
Rob Yaxley is a Chartered Ecologist and has been working in the Nature Conservation and Ecology sector for over 30 years. His early work experiences included working in remote parts of the UK including the Outer Hebrides and the Farne Islands, but he settled in Norfolk in the mid 90s. He is the Director of Wild Frontier Ecology, a consultancy. His current natural history interests include lichens, fungi and insects, although it all started off with birds which he is still fascinated by.
Dr John Baker
Herpetology
​John Baker has been interested in amphibians and reptiles since childhood. He has been fortunate in being able to pursue this interest for most of his working life. He researched amphibian ecology at the Open University where he later ran an office for an international task force investigating the amphibian global decline phenomenon. He has been a self-employed herpetological natural historian but is currently working for the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC) on the reintroduction of the pool frog. He is also a trustee of the Amphibian and Reptile Groups of the UK (ARG UK) volunteer network.