WEST WALES RIVERS TRUST - Key Persons
Adrian is a Chartered Civil Engineer who spent all his 35-year career living and working in South Wales before retiring in 2023. He started his career with consultants Atkins in Swansea, working on a wide range of water related projects. Between 2005 and 2016 Adrian worked in the flood risk management team in Environment Agency Wales (now NRW). Adrian specialised in flood risk management across Wales and reservoir safety regulation. From 2016 to his retirement in 2023 Adrian worked for Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, initially as Head of Dam Safety and then as the Dam Safety Strategy Manager. Adrian has also been a member of the Welsh Government Flood and Coastal Erosion Committee. Adrian now spends his retirement exploring the countryside of Wales, helping to look after two young granddaughters and looking for opportunities to apply his knowledge and experience to make a positive contribution for Wales and to ‘add value'.
Having seen a worrying decline in the health of West Wales rivers and wanting to make a difference, Andrew jumped at the chance to join the team as a restoration officer with a focus on working with farmers and landowners. His love of rivers and nature at a very young age developed into an obsession along with a passion for fly fishing has taken him to many of the wonderful rivers in the UK and abroad including New Zealand and Tierra del Fuego. However, the Teifi is the jewel in the crown for him. His focus and drive is now to help restore the rivers of West Wales, to a condition where nature can thrive once again.
Chris has worked in the environmental and water sector for his whole career with experience in river management, sewage and drinking water treatment in the UK and overseas. Based in Newcastle Emlyn, he is the Trust's representative on Project Slyri, an innovative project to address the problems associated with disposal of agricultural slurries.
Clive has spent all of his career in financial markets. Between 1982-90 he was a dealer on the Stock exchange floor before moving into a trading room after the big bang. Most of Clive's career was spent at ABN/RBS where he eventually achieved board status on the Equity division . Clive now spends his time helping companies raise money, bringing up 4 children and some charitable involvement . He has fished in Wales since he was a boy and knows many of the rivers well. Clive's involvement in WWRT is borne out of a desire for these wonderful waterways to be restored to previous glories and available for the next generation.
Dr. Ian Thomas, retired Llandysul G.P. and life-long Teifi fisherman, is also currently president of Llandysul Angling Association. Ian's activities within the Trust at present revolve around invertebrate monitoring, liming of the river Berwyn in the upper catchment and helping project officers settle into their roles in the Teifi valley. He also attends relevant meetings and assisst with Trust functions such as fund raising, grant applications, displays at shows, learn to fish courses and recruitment.
After studying chemistry at university, Edward changed to law and qualified as a solicitor. He spent 35 years in full time practice before retiring in 2013. Edward has been a keen fisherman for many years and has fished many of the rivers of West Wales. For nearly twenty years he has been one of the co-owners of the Abercothi Estate fishery on the Rivers Towy and Cothi in Carmarthenshire.
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Officer - Pembrokeshire
Emma has connected people of all backgrounds with nature in every path she has taken through her studies and career in wildlife conservation and ecology. From surveying with local wildlife groups, creating landowner engagement projects and community events, to planning and facilitating outdoor education programmes for our future generations. As a volunteer herself, she values the input and cause for change communities and volunteers can create. Emma is eager to empower and upskill communities in Pembrokeshire to work together towards the protection and improvements of our rivers.
Job Titles:
- Chartered Environmentalist and Manager
Hannah is a Chartered Environmentalist and Manager with an academic background in geography and environmental impact assessment. Following academic studies, Hannah entered into ecological consultancy and has spent the last 17 years of her career progressing from a protected species field surveyor to onsite construction clerks of works (ecological and environmental) and then moving into more technical advisory, client representation and project management roles. She has worked across a range of sectors, including utilities/ water infrastructure, nuclear and highways construction and maintenance. MBA studies have supplemented other responsibilities such as the management and coordination of large multi-disciplinary project teams and frameworks. Whilst Hannah's career has moved more into project management she is passionate about biodiversity and has a particular interest in aquatic habitats having spent many years undertaking aquatic invertebrate sampling and working with white-clawed crayfish licensed surveyors in the field.
Harriet has a passion for restoring rivers back to as close to natural conditions as possible, to ensure that they are resilient to land use and climatic pressures. River health cannot be achieved by looking at river channels alone, and Harriet is enthusiastic about joining up delivery with all sectors in West Wales in order to achieve integrated catchment management, ensuring not only healthy rivers, but the biodiverse and productive landscapes that they drain from. She has worked within the Rivers Trust movement for 9 years, first joining West Wales Rivers Trust in 2019. Harriet is also an active member of the Institute of Fisheries Management, including as co-editor for FISH magazine.
Helen has been passionate about marine and freshwater environments for as long as she can remember and has first-hand experience of working on a variety of highly designated sites from Morecambe Bay and the River Kent & its tributaries in Cumbria to the Rivers Teifi, Tywi and Cleddau's in West Wales. Helen has been working as part of the Rivers Trust movement in Wales since 2004 and has been fortunate enough to be able to work with many of the Welsh Trusts on multi-faceted projects and helped to establish Afonydd Cymru as the umbrella organisation that it is today.
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Officer - Carmarthenshire
Joanna has a diverse career history, with experience in community engagement, teaching and running volunteer and woodland wellbeing sessions. She loves our wild birds, and particularly enjoys fleeting glimpses of kingfishers and bobbing dippers. Joanna is motivated by encouraging people of all ages to enjoy and care for our waterways, helping to protect and improve them for the benefit of all living things.
As a chartered accountant, Kay's role within the Trust is mainly financial. Before entering the accountancy profession Kay gained a PhD in Geology and has been involved in green politics for many years, most recently as a County Council candidate for Plaid Cymru. Kay lives on a smallholding near Wolfscastle with the Western Cleddau as one of the boundaries. In her spare time, Kay is a governor of Haverfordwest High VC School and plays in Milford Haven Town Band.
Nathaniel has had a passion for rivers since he was very young, having spent most of his childhood exploring and fishing rivers of South Wales. This interest led him to become concerned with the growing issues occurring in our rivers and he is a proactive member of the conservation sub-committee of his angling club. Nathaniel will focus on continuing our work to engage local communities, businesses and other stakeholders within West Wales, in order to improve our rivers for people and wildlife.
Steve has been a dairy farmer for over 30 years, and is also a keen fly fisherman based in Pembrokeshire near to the Western Cleddau. who is passionate about improving current ways of working for both farming and the environment. Steve provides advice and guidance to the Trust for our agricultural projects.
Job Titles:
- Community Engagement Officer - Swansea & Neath Port Talbot
Tiff has an extensive background in country sports, events & land management. Having always lived or worked within casting distance of a river, he has all too often witnessed the problems our wonderful rivers are subjected to. As a lifelong outdoorsman, he is passionate about developing community projects which involve restoring and protecting fluvial landscapes for future generations to enjoy.
John worked for many years in the Post Office and also British Telecom in Cardiff. His background in BT was in Personnel Management, specialising in office services, typing pools, reprographics, industrial relations, and postal services. After leaving full time employment he has done voluntary work latterly as secretary of the Teifi Rivers Trust, from its inception, until it amalgamated with the Pembrokeshire Rivers Trust, forming the West Wales Rivers Trust, where he now serves as a trustee. He is also a director and treasurer of the Ceredigion Association of Voluntary Organisations and serves as treasurer to the Royal Air Force Association Caduceus (Medical Services) Branch.