Meet the Team
Cannock Chase National Landscape has a small but enthusiastic team of staff that co-ordinates the business of the Partnership and works with a wide range of partners and representatives from across the area and beyond to deliver the AONB Management Plan.
Councillor Anthony Pearce – Chair of the Cannock Chase National Landscape Joint Committee
Tony represents the Doxey and Castletown ward of Stafford Borough Council for the Green Party. He is Cabinet member for Climate Action and Nature Recovery.
He represents the Council on the Cannock Chase Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) Partnership, of which he is chair, the Staffordshire Nature Recovery Strategy Working Party and Staffordshire Sustainability Board.
Within his ward he chairs the steering group leading the newly created Doxey Meadows Community Nature Reserve which is one of the projects supported by Staffordshire Wildlife Trust Nextdoor Nature project. He is also involved with the Friends of Victoria Park and Sustainability Matters (in Stafford Borough). He recently helped a group of Stafford volunteers with their successful bid for Stafford to be recognised as a Bee Friendly Town.
His main concern is to protect and enhance the biodiversity of the Chase, large areas of which are either SACs or SSSIs, yet are part of a Countryside Park and has the heaviest footfall per acre of any National Landscape. He will be hoping to put Nature Recovery at the centre of what the National Landscape does and is excited to be taking over as Chair at the point when the plan for the next five years is being drawn up.
He will be supporting the team in their efforts to get all partners to contribute to the creation of this plan and to make it work in the coming years.
Councillor Victoria Wilson – Vice – Chair of the Cannock Chase National Landscape Joint Committee
Victoria is now the vice-Chair of Cannock Chase National Landscape . Victoria has been a County Councillor for seven years, and Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture. She’s also the Deputy Leader of South Staffordshire District Council, portfolio holder for Business Enterprise and Community Infrastructure, and is currently Chair of the Conservative Association of South Staffordshire.
As a keen advocate for reducing the councils’ carbon footprint and keeping safe all flora and fauna within the Countryside Estate, Victoria works hard with partners in the best interests of all our country parks, from the Peak District, the Moorlands and all the way down to Kinver, which is her county seat. Anything she can do in the best interests of our precious countryside, to promote its safe use, and allow accessibility and a healthy place in which to reap health benefits for local people, will always be in the forefront of everything she does for and with the National Landscape formerly AONB.
victoria.wilson@staffordshire.gov.uk
07592 883270
Supported by Tracey Lloyd tracey.lloyd@staffordshire.gov.uk
Ian Marshall – Team Leader
Ian joined the AONB/National Landscape Team in 2019, and keeps a strategic overview of the partnership’s activities and monitors the delivery of the statutory AONB Management Plan. Ian’s career in environmental conservation spans 40 years and began with the Nature Conservancy Council in Hampshire. Most of his time has been spent in local government in County Ecologist roles, and later managing multi-disciplinary environmental teams. Between 1999 and 2004 he managed a European ecological network project with partners in the UK, Italy and the Netherlands. Ian is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
ian.marshall@staffordshire.gov.uk
01785 276051
Samantha Hall – Communications Officer
Sam started in this new role in the team in November 2022 with a mandate to deliver the Communications Strategy. To raise the profile of Cannock Chase as a National Landscape ensuring that is to be protected, respected and enjoyed by everyone and also to continue to raise the profile of the National Landscape Partnership so that it continues to be valued and supported by all.
Sam is an experienced marketeer with a Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing (CIM) who has worked in destination tourism marketing and visitor management for over 20 years. Most of her experience gained has been within a local authority environment previously as Tourism Marketing Officer and Visitor Economy Manager for Stoke-on-Trent where she developed a Ceramics Trail and County wide Travel Trade campaign. More recently she was Business Tourism Manager at Leicester City Council where her role was to set up the new Meet Leicester Business Tourism service.
Sam has a keen passion for both tourism and the outdoors, is a keen rambler and plays tennis for her local club.
samantha.hall15@staffordshire.gov.uk
01785277582
Richard Harris – Land Management Officer
Richard leads on nature conservation and the historic environment. With partners he develops initiatives to conserve and enhance the natural and cultural heritage features that make up the special qualities of Cannock Chase. His role includes providing support to volunteers and overseeing the AONB Sustainable Development Fund which provides financial support for community projects to further the aims of the AONB Management Plan.
Richard has worked in the field of environmental conservation in the public sector for 17 years. He has practically managed and given technical direction across a broad range of habitats across the UK, managed multi-disciplinary environmental teams and biological records centres, and delivered both nature conservation and cultural heritage projects. Notable successes include restoration of European dry heath and creation of upland oak woodland from a 34 Ha area of conifer plantation in the Dark Peak and working with planning to secure a green roof on the British Museum.
richard.harris1@staffordshire.gov.uk
01785 278035
Liz Garbutt – National Landscape Planning Officer
Liz is currently unavailable as she is on sick leave
Claire Geoghegan – Farming in Protected Landscapes Officer
Claire’s role is to engage directly with farmers and land managers to advise and support them in applications that deliver positive outcomes for their land under the themes of Climate, Nature, People and Place through this Defra supported programme. She also manages all aspects of the programme
Claire has over 20 years’ experience working with farmers and landowners around protected areas, delivering multi-disciplinary environmental, conservation, public health and community development projects in nine countries and four continents. She particularly enjoys working with communities to improve access to the wider environment, focussing on inclusive projects that inspire people to reconnect and care about their local green spaces. Most recently, Claire has co-ordinated the Staffordshire CPRE Hedgerow Heroes project, where over 2.7km of newly created hedgerow was planted at 6 sites across Staffordshire, working with 25 partners, schools and local organisations, and involving more than 150 volunteers at events throughout the planting season. Growing up in Penkridge, Claire is passionate about Cannock Chase and the local area, and is looking forward to working with local farmers and landowners for the benefit of the local environment and communities.
claire.geoghegan@staffordshire.gov.uk
01785 277397
Karen Davies – Farming in Protected Landscapes Officer
Karen’s role is to help deliver the Farming in Protected Landscapes programme, along with Colin Manning supporting and advising farmers and land managers with applications to the programme.
Karen was an active environmentalist as a teenager and went on to study Environmental Science. She spent a number of years working with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) in Africa. Karen then worked in Further Education, becoming Joint Head of Environmental Science and Geography and gaining her Masters Degree in Environment and Development at this time. Moving to local government in Stafford, she was instrumental in setting up Stafford Farmers’ Market, Stafford Borough Eco-Schools Network, the Walking for Health Programme and Stafford’s Back 2 Bikes bike recycling project plus many other community based projects. Karen was invited to the Queen’s Garden Party for contributing towards climate change action.
Karen holds a level 3 Forest Schools qualification and is a BHS Stage 3 Coach and Trail Leader. She owns 10 acres of land on which she keeps horses but also undertakes conservation management. She has planted 300m of hedging and two orchards, created 6 ponds to attract great crested newts, installed a Barn Owl Box and is gradually increasing species diversity within the grassland.
karen.davies1@staffordshire.gov.uk
01785 895072