08 July 2014

Teresa Dent joins the Board of Natural England

Teresa Dent, Chief Executive of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust has been appointed to the Board of Natural England. Photocredit: Hugh NuttThe Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust is delighted to announce that Teresa Dent, its Chief Executive, has been appointed to the Board of Natural England.

Teresa will be taking up her post on Monday 14 July and will attend ten board meetings a year.

Teresa Dent is delighted to be asked to join the Board of Natural England and commented, “I have lived and worked all my life in the countryside and Natural England has an incredibly important role to play in determining how we manage and conserve our countryside. We all face the challenge of how we effectively balance the myriad of things we want and need from our rural areas; food, production, clean water, fuel, carbon sequestration, a beautiful landscape, biodiversity and recovering wildlife. I hope my experience of practical agriculture combined with conservation science will be of value to the Board and Natural England’s hardworking staff.”

Ian Coghill, GWCT‘s Chairman is equally delighted about this appointment and said, “I would like to congratulate Teresa on behalf of all our trustees. There is no doubt that she will be a valuable member of the Natural England Board and will bring huge energy, enthusiasm and insight to the role.”

Having taken a degree in Agriculture at Reading University, Teresa joined Land and Estate Agents Strutt & Parker as a farming consultant. She was a partner with the firm for 13 years.

She joined what was then The Game Conservancy, and is now the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) as Chief Executive at the end of 2001. In this role, she has been able to combine her practical and business experience of farming and land management with the conservation prescriptions and policy produced by GWCT’s scientists. Teresa believes in practical, pragmatic conservation that finds space for wildlife alongside economic land uses such as farming, fishing, shooting and forestry. She works with a number of farmer groups operating at a landscape- scale to improve wildlife conservation, including the only farmer-led Nature Improvement Area.

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Photocaption: Teresa Dent, Chief Executive of the Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust has been appointed to the Board of Natural England. Photocredit: Hugh Nutt.


Notes to editors

The Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust – providing research-led conservation for a thriving countryside. The GWCT is an independent wildlife conservation charity which has carried out scientific research into Britain’s game and wildlife since the 1930s. We advise farmers and landowners on improving wildlife habitats. We employ 22 post-doctoral scientists and 50 other research staff with expertise in areas such as birds, insects, mammals, farming, fish and statistics. We undertake our own research as well as projects funded by contract and grant-aid from Government and private bodies. The Trust is also responsible for a number of Government Biodiversity Action Plan species and is lead partner for grey partridge and joint lead partner for brown hare and black grouse.

For information, contact:
Eleanor Williams
Telephone: 07592 025476
Email: press@gwct.org.uk