NEWLY appointed leaders of nature conservation charity Yorkshire Wildlife Trust have made a rallying call to people to help protect and restore nature across the area.

The trust board has appointed Nick Perks as its new chair, while the charity's members have voted Professor Alastair Fitter in as the new vice president. Nick, formerly vice chair of the trustees, replaces Jo Webb who has stepped down after four years as chair and eight years as a member of the board of trustees.

Prof Fitter is an ecologist and naturalist and Professor Emeritus of Ecology at The University of York. He was awarded a CBE in 2007 for services to environmental science and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2005 and has been a member of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust for more than 50 years.

The changes come at an exciting time for the charity, which is one of the largest of the 46 local Wildlife Trusts which make up the UK-wide movement. It owns and manages 112 nature reserves across the region, is restoring 1,300 hectares of limestone grassland and mountain slopes of Ingleborough and spearheads the Yorkshire Peat Partnership, which so far has restored an area of upland blanket bog the size of Bradford. It also works with communities across Yorkshire, as well as running a bespoke events programme year-round, to inspire more people to take action caring for nature on their doorstep.

In Craven, its nature reserves include Ashes Pasture at the northern tip of Ingleborough and featuring diverse grassland which is home to nationally rare flowers; Brae Pasture, Settle; Globeflower Wood, Malham Moor; and Grass Wood, Grassington. There is also Southerscales reserve, on the western slopes of Ingleborough, and South House limestone pavement, near Horton-in-Ribblesdale.

The charity also published Yorkshire’s first-ever 'state of nature' report in June, with a rallying call for action to protect and restore nature. The report also included evidence and insight that aims to help organisations across the region to focus their environmental efforts and activities.

Nick Perks, who was unanimously elected by the board at its recent meeting, has lived in Yorkshire for more than 20 years and brings a wealth of experience in charity management and philanthropy, including as a former Trust Secretary (CEO) of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and former co-ordinator of the Environmental Funders Network.

Since 2019, Mr Perks has worked as a freelance charity consultant. He is an accredited carbon literacy trainer and he initiated, developed and launched the funder commitment on climate change, which has been signed by many of the UK’s leading charitable trusts and replicated internationally.

He said: “A groundswell of people are taking action for nature across Yorkshire and countless more want to see it flourish. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust has a critical role to play in looking after some of our most special wild places, restoring our finest landscapes, involving local communities and speaking up for nature.

“As Yorkshire Wildlife Trust goes from strength to strength, I am honoured to lead such a committed board of trustees, overseeing the incredible work of our dedicated and skilled staff team.”

Prof Fitter has had a long involvement with the trust's founding reserve, Askham Bog, York. He was a member of Yorkshire Naturalists Trust Council in the 1980s and then a member of the Board of Trustees of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust from 2008 to 2012 and again from 2016 to 2024. He was the first chair of the nature recovery committee, set up three years ago to advise the board on ecological and conservation issues.

Prof Fitter was also a lead researcher and author in the publication of the county’s first State of Yorkshire’s Nature report, which provides the evidence base for the charity's strategy for nature’s recovery.

He said: “It is a privilege and an honour to take up this position, but also a huge pleasure to continue to be involved in this amazing, important and increasingly influential organisation. The trust has already done so much for Yorkshire’s wildlife, and has so much more to offer - alongside and with thanks to members, funders and everyone who helps to support their work.”

The trust’s governing body is an elected board of trustees, a group of members who are nominated and elected. Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is, therefore, governed by its membership. Anyone can join the trust, which has around 44,000 members including families, individuals and businesses.

Rachael Bice, chief executive said: “Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is proud to be at the forefront of nature conservation in Yorkshire, and is uniquely placed to help spearhead a drive towards nature’s recovery. We have been working to ensure Yorkshire’s precious wildlife has been protected for 78 years, and our work is even vitally important now when pressures on wildlife and wild places are so high.

“To continue to build a wilder future for our wildlife and our county, we need a skilled, experienced and dedicated governing body. I want to thank outgoing chair Jo Webb for her dedication and time as a trustee and chair, and to welcome Nick Perks into his new role.

“We are a movement built on the actions of people from all walks of life, all taken with the goal of making a difference to create a wilder Yorkshire.”

Find out more about the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust at: https://www.ywt.org.uk/