Latest news with #LeighMorris
BBC News
19-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
New Manx Wildlife Trust group boss keen to restore habitats
The new boss of a wildlife conservation group has said he is "excited" to continue the organisation's work to restore the island's habitats. Graham Makepeace-Warne has been appointed chief executive of Manx Wildlife Trust (MWT), taking over from Leigh Morris from Makepeace-Warne, who joined the group 2018 as its head of engagement, said it was a "tremendous honour" to lead MWT "at such a crucial time for nature"."I'm excited to build on our successes of restoring habitats, protecting our wildlife, and working with our community to inspire action for nature," he said. "It is very fulfilling work, it is a fantastic team so to be taking on a leadership role is wonderful news." 'Lasting benefits' Mr Makepeace-Warne said while he was not planning on making any "big, sweeping changes", he was looking to "get a more regular income stream so that we can stabilise the organisation". Exciting projects for the organisation included plans to transform land at Glen Auldyn into a temperate rainforest, as well as work to create a carbon registry for the island to track and manage carbon credit, he it was a "really exciting time for nature" on the island, there was "a lot of work to do", he the appointment, chairman of the MWT trustees said Mr Makepeace-Warne would "continue to grow" the organisations "influence" as well as delivering "tangible, lasting benefits for nature and people" on the island. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
14-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Glen Auldyn rainforest to be Isle of Man's largest nature reserve
Plans to create the Isle of Man's largest nature reserve as part of a £38m temperate rainforest restoration scheme have been Wildlife Trusts programme aims to re-establish "rare and biodiverse" rainforests across the world, aiming to remove 800,000 tonnes of carbon from the at Glen Auldyn on the outskirts of Ramsey is to become home to a variety of trees, set to evolve over many decades, marking the second project of its kind in the Wildlife Trust chief executive Leigh Morris said it would "connect fragments of forest in the north of the island" and "coherently join them together". Creg y Cowin in East Baldwin was named in 2023 as one of the first places to benefit from the recovery the 750 acres (303 hectares) zoned for planting in Glen Auldyn represents the largest area to enter the programme so far. Mr Morris said: "Its size provides a fantastic opportunity for landscape scale nature conservation and creates a model for how the Isle of Man uplands could be managed in the future."We're really hoping that this glen and the moorland that goes with it becomes an example of how the wildlife trust and the local community and farming can really work together." The site is set to become over seven times the size of the island's largest nature seeds have been gathered from glens across the island, to be grown at a nursery in the nearby Milntown include the native Manx oak, downy birch, mountain ash, holly, alder, willows, and hazel. Mr Morris said MWT also hoped the reserve would encourage more diverse wildlife back to the area. He said ring ouzels and wood warblers no longer nested on the island, but "maybe they'll come back when we build that forest".While the funding from the scheme had enabled the project to be brought forward, Mr Morris said it had been a long term goal of the organisation. He said it was "in the ambition of Manx Wildlife Trust for decades" and was "part of a whole ambition to try to connect fragments of forest in the north of the island and try and coherently join them together"."There's a far stronger longer term ambition about the north of the island and bringing woodlands and forest back. It's a special moment," he added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
19-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Moving on 'bitter sweet' for Manx Wildlife Trust boss
Moving on from working directly in conservation on the Isle of Man is "bitter sweet", the outgoing boss of local organisation has Wildlife Trust (MWT) chief executive Leigh Morris will leave in May to take on the role of Director of International Nature and Climate at the Wildlife on his five years in the post he said a key achievement was the expansion of the charity, which had tripled in size of both its team and land said he had "learnt a huge amount" about conservation through working on the island because it was a "wonderful microcosm", but said he hoped he had "given a lot too". The MWT was also in a "stronger place" in terms of its finances, he said, which had in part been possible through the rise in corporations focusing on environmental, social and governance (ESG).A key project Mr Morris has been instrumental in is the ongoing planting of 30,000 trees at Creg y Cowin as part of a £38m rainforest restoration programme being rolled out by the Wildlife his time, Mr Morris pushed for MWT to gain a government contract to help deliver an agri-environment scheme, with agriculture taking up about 75% of the land on the said while the organisation only managed about 0.3% of the land when he joined in January 2020, that had now increased to 1%. Although there was a "historic battle" between farmers and conservationists, the scheme had enabled the charity to work with farmers to "make things better for nature", he said. Mr Morris also organised for a survey of the island's wild wallaby population after realising there was "no information" about how many there were on the said he was "gobsmacked" when the count in the Ballaugh Curraghs showed there were 700 wallabies, with the total on the island now estimated to be between 1,200 and 1,500. He said he hoped the survey meant there was "enough information" about the animals on the island to allow for a management plan to be developed. Other highlights during his time in the role included rolling out an education programme across the island's 32 primary schools, the charity's 50th anniversary celebrations, and MWT receiving the King's Award for voluntary said the team had done a "huge amount over the past five years" and it was a "good moment to step away", Mr Morris all those involved in projects across the island he said: "People are the reason we need conservation and people are the solution to the island being a wonderful showcase of what a biosphere could look like," he added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Leader 'instrumental' in growth of wildlife group
A conservation group leader who has been "instrumental" in ensuing the growth of the organisation is moving on after five years in the post. Manx Wildlife Trust chief executive Leigh Morris will leave the post in May to take on the role of Director of International Nature and Climate at the Wildlife Trusts. Mr Morris, who took up the post in September 2019, said he was leaving with a "sense of pride " in what had been accomplished and "a deep confidence in the team". His new role, which works with an association of 46 local trusts including the Isle of Man, aims to bridge the gap between local conservation efforts and global environmental challenges. He said the last five years had been "a wonderful chapter of my life", and he was "particularly proud" of the work carried out during the group's 50th anniversary in 2023 and its receipt of the King's Award for Voluntary Service. "Though I will be embarking on a new chapter, I know that my connection to MWT and the Isle of Man is far from over," he added. A spokesman for the Manx Wildlife Trust said that Mr Morris had been "instrumental" in expanding the charity's work and "ensuring its growth". He would continue to be involved in the Inter-island Environment Meeting, which will be hosted on the Isle of Man for the first time in September. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X. Volunteers sought to guide conservation charity King's Award honours 'backbone of wildlife trust' Manx Wildlife Trust seeks new woodland rangers Manx Wildlife Trust The Wildlife Trusts
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Leader 'instrumental' in growth of wildlife group
A conservation group leader who has been "instrumental" in ensuing the growth of the organisation is moving on after five years in the post. Manx Wildlife Trust chief executive Leigh Morris will leave the post in May to take on the role of Director of International Nature and Climate at the Wildlife Trusts. Mr Morris, who took up the post in September 2019, said he was leaving with a "sense of pride " in what had been accomplished and "a deep confidence in the team". His new role, which works with an association of 46 local trusts including the Isle of Man, aims to bridge the gap between local conservation efforts and global environmental challenges. He said the last five years had been "a wonderful chapter of my life", and he was "particularly proud" of the work carried out during the group's 50th anniversary in 2023 and its receipt of the King's Award for Voluntary Service. "Though I will be embarking on a new chapter, I know that my connection to MWT and the Isle of Man is far from over," he added. A spokesman for the Manx Wildlife Trust said that Mr Morris had been "instrumental" in expanding the charity's work and "ensuring its growth". He would continue to be involved in the Inter-island Environment Meeting, which will be hosted on the Isle of Man for the first time in September. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X. Volunteers sought to guide conservation charity King's Award honours 'backbone of wildlife trust' Manx Wildlife Trust seeks new woodland rangers Manx Wildlife Trust The Wildlife Trusts
