Who we are

Trustees

Tim Duckmanton – Co Chair

Tim Duckmanton, Team Leader for Strategy and Environment, Lake District National Park Authority

Tim’s portfolio of policy, strategy, programme development and project delivery includes farming, landscape, water, nature recovery and climate action. He is the lead officer for climate action in Lake District National Park Partnership Plan and nature recovery for the LDNPA. He was a member of the water governance and catchment groups steering group in Cumbria, following Storm Desmond. Currently Tim is a steering group member for Back On Our Map (an innovative University of Cumbria community engagement species recovery programme) and Cumbria Community Coastal Forest and board member of Cumbria Woodlands.

His career has previously focussed on roles in The Wildlife Trusts and Broads National Park, engaging people through volunteering and learning about nature.

David Butterworth – Co Chair

David Butterworth, Chief Executive, Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority

David was appointed as Chief Executive of the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority in 2000.  He joined the Authority in 1991 as Head of Corporate Services. Previously he worked for Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council as an economic development officer.

David is currently the ‘Lead CEO’ for National Parks England (NPE) – an umbrella body representing the English NPAs. He also leads on Performance Improvement, Access issues and European matters for NPE.

He previously Chaired the ‘Prosperity & Protection Steering Group’ A body which examined and reported on the economic value of the three National Parks in Yorkshire. He is a former Trustee of the North of England Civic Trust.

David Chaired the ‘Europarc Atlantic Isles’ section of the Europarc Federation of Protected Landscapes though he has stepped down from this role for 2022.

In his spare time, he plays a lot of sport: football, tennis; running and more recently got the bug for long distance cycling.  He has cycled many national trails over the last few years after his own body informed him that his first sporting love, football, was probably better watched than participated in!

Cathy Hopley

Cathy Hopley – Pendle Hill Landscape Partnership Scheme Manager

Cathy has worked for the Forest of Bowland AONB since 2004, and prior to that worked in community development and environmental projects across the North West, including the Bolton Wildlife Project, Mersey Basin Campaign and the Mersey Forest.

Her involvement with EUROPARC began with assisting the AONB to become the first protected landscape in England to obtain the Charter for Sustainable Tourism back in 2005, and its renewal in 2010.

Cathy’s role at the Forest of Bowland AONB (Development and Funding officer) has included the management of the Pendle Hill landscape partnership and the development of a variety of initiatives including a Sense of Place toolkit, Bowland Haytime, heritage and education projects and a Climate Adaptation Plan.

Her current key interests and areas of expertise include community engagement and inclusion, health and wellbeing and working with artists in the landscape.

 

Chris Dean

Mr Chris Dean, Head of Moors for the Future Partnership

Chris has an MSc in Countryside Management and has worked in countryside management for more than four decades. Over the years, Chris has worked for the Countryside Agency and Calderdale Countryside service, among others. Since 2002 Chris has led the Moors for the Future Partnership (MFFP) team in the Peak District and South Pennines. To date, raising £50 million to restore what is an environmental catastrophe of degradation across this blanket bog landscape. This has included largest LIFE programme grant ever awarded to a UK conservation project, MoorLIFE 2020. Chris is the Conservation Member for the Trent Regional Flood and Coast Committee and a Board member of the Great North Bog Coalition, the IUCN UK Peatland Programme and the Europarc Atlantic Isles Section.

Paul Thompson

Business |Development Advisor Forestry Commission

Paul has over ten years experience delivering conservation and community development projects around the world. He has led on youth development projects for the Wildlife Trust, landscape partnership schemes for the North York Moors National Park Authority and the development of a woodland social enterprise providing nature-based activities to support health and wellbeing through heritage crafts. Paul currently works for the Forestry Commission advising land managers around woodland creation in the north of England.

In his spare time he likes to explore moorland, mountains and woodlands on his bike, camping and walking his dog in all of the UK’s protected landscapes.

Lois Mansfield

Professor of Upland Landscapes at the University of Cumbria,

Lois is Professor of Upland Landscapes at the University of Cumbria, where she is the Director of the research Centre for National Parks & Protected Areas. She sits on the Europarc Atlantic Isles Board to act as a conduit between Universities and Colleges and the Protected Landscapes family, to find synergies, raise the profile of EAI and increase networking. She works with the Lake District National Park as the Chair of the WHS Technical Advisory group and as the developer of their research and monitoring frameworks.  Her specific professional interests currently focus on the application of multiple capitals to building resilience for marginal farming systems and communities.

Jo Swiers

Interim Executive Director at National Parks England.

Jo has 25 years’ experience of delivering organisational strategy in public and third sector organisations including the North York Moors NPA, National Parks UK, Nidderdale AONB, the Lower Ure Conservation Trust and the National Trust.

In 2020/2021 Jo also facilitated a DEFRA Environmental Land Management ‘Test and Trial’. This involved working with the Foundation for Common land and Federation of Cumbrian Commoners to develop an ELM delivery model for Commons.

Jo was brought up on a farm near Skipton and is now based in Ripon, North Yorkshire. In her early career she worked on land management projects in Guyana, St Helena and China. She has a master’s degree in Agricultural Economics, and as well as being a board member at EUROPARC Atlantic Isles and enjoys hill walking, swimming and attempting to grow prize winning vegetables

Kenny Auld

Head of Visitor Services Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park

Following a two year experience in Mauritius protecting the endemic Pink Pigeon population, Kenny’s Zoology background led to a career within the National Park Authority in 2004. This started in the Ranger Service but quickly shifted to work across outdoor recreation development and a specialism around the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 and the Scottish Outdoor Access Code. This has included leading a successful land mark legal case covering 11 years, chairing the West Highland Way management group and a role of Convenor on the national Scottish Outdoor Access Network.

As Head of Visitor Services, Kenny is able to use his experience and passion for partnership working across visitor management, health improvement, green jobs and environmental protection and enhancement. Sustainable Transport has emerged as a key area of work with Kenny leading the strategic thinking and interrogation of emerging national policies to ensure the pressures and opportunities around rural visitor hotspots are part of the national shift away from car dependency.

Linked to his National Park work Kenny has been a board member of Europarc Atlantic Isles since 2017

Outwith work Kenny drinks too much coffee, enjoys travel, picks up regular injuries through outdoor recreation and sports, and supports wider community initiatives across Glasgow including Glasgow National Park City.

William Cormacan

William is the Divisional Manager in the Mid-West Division of the National Parks and Wildlife (NPWS), covering County Galway (excluding Connemara), County Clare and the ServiceAran Islands. In this role he has responsibility for NPWS properties and nature reserves within the Mid-West Division, including the Burren National Park and Coole Park. William was also previously the manager for both Connemara and Wild Nephin National Parks. William is a graduate of the University of Limerick (Hon Degree B.Sc. – Environmental Science), and prior to joining the NPWS, he worked as an agricultural and environmental consultant.

He joined the NPWS in 2000 and has performed a multitude of roles within the organisation, including Conservation Ranger, District Conservation Officer, Divisional Ecologist, Regional Manager and more recently Divisional Manager since 2022. Some of the notable projects that William have been involved in include Mayo Dark Sky Park, Corncrake LIFE, Lough Carra LIFE, Cladoir/Claddagh Sheep Preservation Project, twinning agreement between Connemara National Park and Terra Nova National Park, the MOU between Mayo County Council, the NPWS and Coillte regarding the management and development of state lands at Moorehall and Lough Carra, etc. In his spare time William maintains a small mixed farm near Portumna in East Galway.

Hayden Bridgeman

North Area Ranger, New Forest National Park Authority

Hayden is an Area Ranger for the New Forest National Park Authority and the Chair of the NFNPA Early Careers Branch. She spent the early part of her career working on conservation projects abroad – from Malaysia to the Caribbean and over to Ascension Island before returning to the UK and the New Forest National Park. Hayden is a strong advocate for true inclusivity in the outdoors and is driven to make societal change in how vulnerable communities access our protected areas. She is an Alfred Toepfer Scholarship winner and is studying how protected areas across Europe are engaging with refugee and asylum seeker communities.

‘We, as a society, are so aware how crucial access to nature is to good mental health and yet those that need it most are often unable to access it and I want to change that.’

Hayden is recently a keen cyclist and loves the coast having grown up on the Isle of Wight.

Mary-Jane Alexander

Youth Engagement Officer, North York Moors National Park

Mary-Jane has worked for the North York Moors National Park since 2017. With a background in Youth Work and Outdoor Learning Mary-Jane has worked to create and develop youth engagement within the park. Programmes are tailored for nature connection and skill building which benefit young people’s mental health and wellbeing.

Mary-Jane attended the 2018 EUROPARC conference in Scotland, the year of young people and the launch of the EUROPARCH Youth Manifesto. This reinforced Mary-Jane’s involvement with EUROPARC through programmes for young people and her own learning.

Mary-Jane also sits on the NPUK Learning and Engagement working group and plays a large part in actions dedicated to youth engagement. Particularly the volunteer journey through Young Rangers, Youth+ and Youth Voice which follow EUROPARC programmes.

Professional interests are around opportunities for young people and the benefit of connection to nature for physical and mental health and wellbeing. Outside of work Mary-Jane enjoys hiking, climbing, photography and travel.

Development Advisor

Anita Prosser

Anita has been involved with Europarc since 1990 and was a council member of EUROPARC Federation for 6 years and a trustee of EAI for over 9 years working with protected areas across Europe

Anita was born and educated in the UK having spent her early years in West Africa. Following a degree in Botany and Zoology she worked in education and as a researcher for a wildlife film company. Anita joined the BTCV in 1983 to set up training schemes for the unemployed. In 1988 she was appointed to set up and establish BTCV International activities. Anita worked in over 32 countries throughout the world, ran organisational training programmes in Central and Eastern Europe, Japan and Africa, helped to establish national Conservation Volunteer organisations.

She led the establishment of the Conservation Volunteers Alliance, a network to promote and give a voice to environmental volunteers in Europe and further afield.

Anita has worked on European funding for transnational work, influencing EU volunteering policy, EU growth funds for the UK and chairing the European funding network on behalf of NCVO. She has set up groups to deliver training and material on working with volunteers in nature and running networks and events in relation to the natural environment, such as the Outdoor Recreation Network and Europarc Atlantic Isles.

She is a trustee of Eurosite and The Trust for Oxfordshire Environment