Nature Recovery Committee
YWT is striving to achieve a nature rich Yorkshire, where the actions of everyone are contributing to nature’s recovery. To help us understand what a nature rich Yorkshire looks like and how we can achieve it, we have convened a ‘Nature Recovery Committee’.
The Nature Recovery Committee is a sub-committee of the board. This is the forum where Trustees, staff and expert external advisors can come together to drive our ambition and guide our work in creating a thriving natural environment in and for Yorkshire.
Members of the Nature Recovery Committee
Professor Alastair Fitter CBE - Committee chair (Trustee member)
Alastair has been a member of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust for nearly 50 years, and this is his third stint on the Board. He has had a long-standing engagement with Askham Bog, chairing its then Management Committee until 1985 and jointly writing 'A Wood in Ascam', an account of its natural history, with Clifford Smith, one of the founders of the (then) Yorkshire Naturalists’ Trust.
Alastair is a naturalist and ecologist, with plants and moths as his main taxonomic interests, and has written several natural history guides and books, some jointly with his father, Richard Fitter, who was a pioneer in this area until he died in 2005. Alastair's career was at the University of York, where he ended his time as Professor of Ecology, Head of the Biology Department and finally Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2005.
Alastair has been a council member of the Natural Environment Research Council and of the Science Advisory Committee of Natural England, and president of the British Ecological Society, among other things, but nowadays prefers to focus his activities in Yorkshire, where he is president-elect of the Yorkshire Naturalists' Union and acts as president of the River Foss Society.
Elly Hill (External member)
Elly is a marine ecologist with 22 years’ experience in the Nature Conservation public sector. She started her career working for the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) marine survey programme, in which she spent 2 years surveying the Yorkshire coastline. Elly then moved permanently to Yorkshire and continued to work in marine conservation, advising on the development of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) monitoring programmes and providing Conservation Advice on MPAs. Elly is currently the Team Leader for marine data and evidence in JNCC.
Prof. Jane Hill (External member)
Jane is a Professor of Ecology at the University of York, and University Research Champion in ‘Environmental Sustainability & Resilience’. I research the impacts of climate and habitat change on species (particularly butterflies), with the aim of developing effective conservation management and policy interventions for enhancing biodiversity in the Anthropocene.
“I am keen to contribute to the development of conservation strategies and ensure they are informed by the best scientific evidence. Of particular relevance to the Nature Recovery Committee, my research has highlighted the importance of landscape-scale approaches to conservation, the effectiveness of Protected Area networks for conserving species under climate change, and the role of habitat connectivity.”
Prof. Ian Rotherham (External member)
Ian Rotherham is Emeritus Professor at the Advanced Wellbeing Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University and a lifelong member of YWT. He set up, and for ten years directed the Sheffield City Council ecological advisory unit, was a long-standing member of the YWT South Yorkshire Regional Committee, and established the ‘Sheffield Wildlife Action Partnership’ with YWT which raised around one million pounds for conservation in Sheffield.
Ian is an ecologist / invasion biologist / environmental historian with interests in woodlands, peatlands and grasslands – management and restoration and particularly links to landscape heritage and archaeology. He also works on wildlife and heritage tourism and regional economics.
Ian works with grassroots conservation groups across the country, writes extensively for popular media along with working for both radio and television.
Simon Warwick MBE (External member)
Simon has lived in Yorkshire since the age of seven, but is constantly reminded by his wife Jill that he was born just south of the Trent and therefore cannot claim to be Yorkshire-born! Despite this circumstance of birth, he considers himself a committed Yorkshireman and has been a member of the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust for almost 40 years. Simon’s deep passion for wildlife and the countryside started early and led to a career in landscape design, and the realisation that in order to deliver true wildlife value, working on a large landscape-scale achieved more. Such an opportunity existed by working in partnership with the mineral extraction industry in North Yorkshire. This resulted in him founding the Lower Ure Conservation Trust, the creation of Nosterfield Nature Reserve and formation of the wider Swale and Ure Washlands Project partnership. Simon was awarded an MBE for Services to Nature Conservation in North Yorkshire in 2006.
Central to Simon’s interest is the value of learning from history – if we understand the natural habits which existed in the past in our landscape, it gives a broad guide to the landscape which could naturally be recreated and in doing so enrich wildlife and peoples’ lives. As a former President of the Yorkshire Naturalists’ Union, he has had the great pleasure of working alongside many fine ecologists and looks forward to working more closely with the YWT to create a valuable vision for Yorkshire’s Nature Recovery.
Dr Mick Armitage (Trustee member)
Micks passion for wildlife began with visits to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserves as a boy. Whilst studying marine biology at university, he became particularly interested in the ecology of our shorelines. Mick followed this up with a zoology PhD studying the ecology of mountain streams in Wales. This combination has given him a good understanding of the natural environment and its complexities and challenges.
A change of direction led to a 30-year career working as a business consultant, specialising in providing technology advice to global corporations, government departments and NGOs. Mick manages many large-scale projects delivering business and technology change. Having recently retired Mick brings skills that combine scientific expertise with his extensive business experience.
Mick has been a co-opted member of the YWT board since November 2020, where he has played an active role in the Finance & Risk Committee for the trust. Mick has also recently represented the board on a group established by the UK Wildlife Trusts that is examining climate change, its impact on wildlife and how trusts can respond.
Mick has remained committed to wildlife throughout his life and is a regular visitor to our reserves. Mick has lived in Yorkshire for most of his life and is currently attempting to re-wild land around his home in Nidderdale, where he lives with his family.
Nabil Abbas (Trustee member)
Nabil has worked in nature conservation for over 20 years, the majority of this time in South and West Yorkshire and the Peak District. Having started his career as a Wildlife Trust trainee, he has been fortunate to work in a number of roles in three different Wildlife Trusts.
Nabil currently work as the Project Manager for the Skell Valley Project, delivering a landscape scale partnership project in North Yorkshire, co-led by Nidderdale AONB and the National Trust.
In his spare time he enjoys walking, growing things and exploring Yorkshire’s wonderful wild places.
Dr Jane Smart OBE (Trustee Member)
Dr. Jane Smart currently leads IUCN’s newly established Centre for Science and Data, aiming to increase the uptake and impact of data products based on IUCN standards in support of IUCN’s Mission, including The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and working to define and measure “Nature-Positive”. Prior to that, she led IUCN’s Biodiversity Conservation Group (including the Species, Protected Areas and World Heritage Programmes) as well as IUCN’s work to influence the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework to be adopted at CBD COP15 in December 2022. She is based in the David Attenborough Building in Cambridge, UK.
Jane began her career carrying out research into the restoration of peatlands with the former Nature Conservancy Council at the University of Sheffield. She became the first Chief Executive of Plantlife International, following a period with the London Wildlife Trust and the Greater London Council. Before joining the IUCN Secretariat, Jane was Chair of the IUCN UK National Committee. In 2003, she was awarded the OBE for services to international conservation.
In January 2023, Jane will finish her work with the IUCN Secretariat. She will be based in Malham in the Yorkshire Dales where she intends to spend time more walking and enjoying nature.
