The Forum's Board
Dr Steve Head Forum Coordinator since 2007, Trustee since 2020
Steve is an invertebrate zoologist and general ecologist with a particular interest in gardening and helping people at every level to understand the importance of garden wildlife. He was a founder member of the Forum and the Steering Group, and managed the Forum and its conferences for several years.
Steve has a lecturing background in Universities in the UK, Jamaica and Oman, subsequently leading conservation NGOs and managing their development. Steve was for 8 years a Secretary of State Member on the Exmoor National Park Authority, leading on biodiversity and landscape.
He lectures and runs courses on wildlife gardening and is particularly proud of leading a team that won Gold and Best in Show for a Courtyard Garden at Chelsea in 2010.
Steve manages the Forum's website, and is currently Chair of the Trustees.
Dr David Perkins Trustee from 2018
David has been Environmental Education and Gardens Manager at Roots and Shoots since 1999. Roots and Shoots is a Central London charity devoted to improving the lives of young people with difficulties and giving the communities of North Lambeth the chance to experience a bit of 'wildness'. He manages the 1.5 acre site to provide all kinds of opportunities for natural history learning by a mixture of tolerance, careful observation and a lot of hard graft. As well as striving to provide rich and varied habitats, he also hosts school and community group visits to the site, runs occasional longer-term education projects, organises open days and keeps the 'wildlife classroom' displays relevant and engaging.
Judith Conroy Trustee from 2018
A long-time organic gardener with a particular interest in pollinators and other garden wildlife, Judith is a researcher at Coventry University's Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience. Having worked on their Blooms for Bees project, she is currently involved with two Horizon 2020 projects: one researching legumes as forage for pollinators and as food for people, and another to find solutions for contentious inputs in organic growing.
Judith has also written and currently teaches an organic gardening qualification, and is a regular contributor to Grow Your Own magazine and Garden Organic's The Organic Way. Judith is on our Science Group and takes a major role in the Forum's Twitter account.
Karen Murphy Trustee since December 2019
After completing a Masters degree in Irish Studies, RHS qualifications and spending a year working for the RHS website and The Garden magazine, Karen has been Features Editor and writer for the long-running weekly Garden News magazine since 2015, in which she writes a column as The Natural Gardener, paying special attention to wildlife and eco-friendly gardening methods.
Karen lives in Lincolnshire and is a long-time fruit, veg and flower gardener. She is our Hon. Secretary and heads the Admin Group on the Board
Mary Jackson
Mary has a background in education and landscape architecture and has been helping children and young people get close to nature through their school grounds and beyond since volunteering for national school grounds charity Learning through Landscapes (LtL) in the early 1990s.
Now having spent more than 20 years working for LtL she is currently Projects Manager and has managed the charity’s Polli:Nation project helping more than 250 schools to encourage pollinating insects into their school grounds. She is also co-founder of the International School Grounds Alliance, a global network of organisations and professionals working to enrich the experiences of children and young in their school grounds. Through both organisations Mary works to ensure that children’s connection to nature becomes part of their daily lives. Mary is a member of our Admin Group on the Board
Johan Ingles-Le Nobel Trustee since 2020
Johan is a Modern History graduate who is highly experienced commercial marketing manager with 20 years online experience. He has great expertise in most modern software and web-based applications including web-site creation and social media. Hi many interests include ultra-close-up photography, and his website is an encyclopaedic practical guide, and he has an impressive gallery of images hosted on Flickr.
Johan is a keen wildlife gardener and won the Large Garden section of the Surrey Wildlife Trust's Wildlife Garden of the year award 2019. Johan now manages the Forum’s Facebook group and page, and has brought its membership to an amazing 54,000 members in a year. He is responsible for developing our outreach as Director of Communications.
Helen Bostock Trustee 2010-2012, 2020-
Helen is Senior Horticultural Adviser for the RHS, based at Wisley. With a History degree from York University, Helen took the National Certificate in Horticulture at Askham Bryan Agricultural/Horticultural College, gaining an excellent grounding in the basic skills and science of horticulture. She then completed the two-year Wisley Diploma in Practical Horticulture and RHS Diploma before joining the Advisory team nine years ago.
Helen has been on the Forum's Steering Group since 2008, and was in charge of the RHS/WLGF partnership research project "Plants for Bugs" at RHS Wisley, which compared native and non-native plants as contributors to garden insect biodiversity. She played the major role in developing the RHS "Plants for Pollinators" lists, and in setting up the Forum's Facebook account. Helen is on the Science Group and Vice-Chair of the Board.
Dr Mark Goddard Trustee since 2020
Mark is an urban ecologist with a particular interest in conserving biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services in cities. He is a VC Fellow of Northumbria University at Newcastle. Mark hasd been associated with the Wildlife Gardening Forum since his graduate student days at Leeds University, when he gave an excellent presentation on his PhD topic at our 2010 Conference.
His thesis studied ecological and social drivers of bird and bee diversity in residential landscapes. This work has led to an interest in how we can incentivise householders, communities and local authorities to manage cities more sympathetically for wildlife.
He is currently working within three collaborative UK projects on the consequences of automating cities, soil carbon capture and urban pollinators, and three major international collaborations. Mark leads our Science Group on the Board.
The Forum's Board
Helen Bostock Trustee 2010-2012, 2020-
Helen is Senior Horticultural Adviser for the RHS, based at Wisley. With a History degree from York University, Helen took the National Certificate in Horticulture at Askham Bryan Agricultural/Horticultural College, gaining an excellent grounding in the basic skills and science of horticulture. She then completed the two-year Wisley Diploma in Practical Horticulture and RHS Diploma before joining the Advisory team nine years ago.
Helen has been on the Forum's Steering Group since 2008, and was in charge of the RHS/WLGF partnership research project "Plants for Bugs" at RHS Wisley, which compared native and non-native plants as contributors to garden insect biodiversity. She played the major role in developing the RHS "Plants for Pollinators" lists, and in setting up the Forum's Facebook account. Helen is on the Science Group and Vice-Chair of the Board.
Judith Conroy Trustee from 2018
A long-time organic gardener with a particular interest in pollinators and other garden wildlife, Judith is a researcher at Coventry University's Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience. Having worked on their Blooms for Bees project, she is currently involved with two Horizon 2020 projects: one researching legumes as forage for pollinators and as food for people, and another to find solutions for contentious inputs in organic growing.
Judith has also written and currently teaches an organic gardening qualification, and is a regular contributor to Grow Your Own magazine and Garden Organic's The Organic Way. Judith is on our Science Group and takes a major role in the Forum's Twitter account.
Dr Mark Goddard Trustee since 2020
Mark is an urban ecologist with a particular interest in conserving biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services in cities. He is a VC Fellow of Northumbria University at Newcastle. Mark hasd been associated with the Wildlife Gardening Forum since his graduate student days at Leeds University, when he gave an excellent presentation on his PhD topic at our 2010 Conference.
His thesis studied ecological and social drivers of bird and bee diversity in residential landscapes. This work has led to an interest in how we can incentivise householders, communities and local authorities to manage cities more sympathetically for wildlife.
He is currently working within three collaborative UK projects on the consequences of automating cities, soil carbon capture and urban pollinators, and three major international collaborations. Mark leads our Science Group on the Board.
Dr Steve Head Forum Coordinator since 2007, Trustee since 2020
Steve is an invertebrate zoologist and general ecologist with a particular interest in gardening and helping people at every level to understand the importance of garden wildlife. He was a founder member of the Forum and the Steering Group, and managed the Forum and its conferences for several years.
Steve has a lecturing background in Universities in the UK, Jamaica and Oman, subsequently leading conservation NGOs and managing their development. Steve was for 8 years a Secretary of State Member on the Exmoor National Park Authority, leading on biodiversity and landscape.
He lectures and runs courses on wildlife gardening and is particularly proud of leading a team that won Gold and Best in Show for a Courtyard Garden at Chelsea in 2010.
Steve manages the Forum's website, and is currently Chair of the Trustees.
Johan Ingles-Le Nobel Trustee since 2020
Johan is a Modern History graduate who is highly experienced commercial marketing manager with 20 years online experience. He has great expertise in most modern software and web-based applications including web-site creation and social media. Hi many interests include ultra-close-up photography, and his website is an encyclopaedic practical guide, and he has an impressive gallery of images hosted on Flickr.
Johan is a keen wildlife gardener and won the Large Garden section of the Surrey Wildlife Trust's Wildlife Garden of the year award 2019. Johan now manages the Forum’s Facebook group and page, and has brought its membership to an amazing 54,000 members in a year. He is responsible for developing our outreach as Director of Communications.
Johan Ingles-Le Nobel Trustee since 2020
Johan is a Modern History graduate who is highly experienced commercial marketing manager with 20 years online experience. He has great expertise in most modern software and web-based applications including web-site creation and social media. Hi many interests include ultra-close-up photography, and his website is an encyclopaedic practical guide, and he has an impressive gallery of images hosted on Flickr.
Johan is a keen wildlife gardener and won the Large Garden section of the Surrey Wildlife Trust's Wildlife Garden of the year award 2019. Johan now manages the Forum’s Facebook group and page, and has brought its membership to an amazing 54,000 members in a year. He is responsible for developing our outreach as Director of Communications.
Mary Jackson
Mary has a background in education and landscape architecture and has been helping children and young people get close to nature through their school grounds and beyond since volunteering for national school grounds charity Learning through Landscapes (LtL) in the early 1990s.
Now having spent more than 20 years working for LtL she is currently Projects Manager and has managed the charity’s Polli:Nation project helping more than 250 schools to encourage pollinating insects into their school grounds. She is also co-founder of the International School Grounds Alliance, a global network of organisations and professionals working to enrich the experiences of children and young in their school grounds. Through both organisations Mary works to ensure that children’s connection to nature becomes part of their daily lives. Mary is a member of our Admin Group on the Board
Karen Murphy Trustee since December 2019
After completing a Masters degree in Irish Studies, RHS qualifications and spending a year working for the RHS website and The Garden magazine, Karen has been Features Editor and writer for the long-running weekly Garden News magazine since 2015, in which she writes a column as The Natural Gardener, paying special attention to wildlife and eco-friendly gardening methods.
Karen lives in Lincolnshire and is a long-time fruit, veg and flower gardener. She is our Hon. Secretary and heads the Admin Group on the Board
Dr David Perkins Trustee from 2018
David has been Environmental Education and Gardens Manager at Roots and Shoots since 1999. Roots and Shoots is a Central London charity devoted to improving the lives of young people with difficulties and giving the communities of North Lambeth the chance to experience a bit of 'wildness'. He manages the 1.5 acre site to provide all kinds of opportunities for natural history learning by a mixture of tolerance, careful observation and a lot of hard graft. As well as striving to provide rich and varied habitats, he also hosts school and community group visits to the site, runs occasional longer-term education projects, organises open days and keeps the 'wildlife classroom' displays relevant and engaging.