About Us

Meet the Board

Avon Needs Trees is overseen by a Board of Trustees and by a Board of Directors to guide our commercial activity.

mark funnell

Mark Funnell

Chair of Trustees and Director

Mark is the Chair of Avon Needs Trees. He is the Communications and Campaigns Director at the National Trust, looking after external communications, internal communications, policy and advocacy and content and publishing.

He has specialised in environmental communications and campaigns for over 20 years. His previous roles include interim Director of Communications at Defra, Head of Communications at the Forestry Commission and Head of External Relations at the Environment Agency. He also led transformation to a new operating model for Defra group’s 250 Communications staff, who came together from five different arm’s length bodies.

Mark started out in editorial and publishing roles, working for five years at a consumer magazine publishing company. His specialist areas include environmental campaigns, corporate communications, operational and crisis communications, change management, staff engagement, stakeholder relations and public affairs.

Theo Blanchard

Trustee Treasurer and Director

Theo studied Biology at Bristol University and is now a chartered accountant working for a renewables company. He is passionate about rewilding and the need to protect our natural heritage. Theo brings experience from the world of finance but when not working can be found exploring wild places and bouldering.

Dave Wood

Chief Executive and Director

CEO Dave Wood lives in the countryside between Bristol and Bath, and joined ANT in 2021 as the charity’s first salaried employee.  Since then Dave has driven ANT’s rapidly-expanding impact, fundraising over £10m to buy nearly 600 acres of land for woodland creation and now leads a staff team of 25 amazing people.

An undiagnosed disability meant Dave had to drop out of school aged 14.  Dave then self-taught their way to University while working as a warehouse operative.  Later becoming a Students’ Union President and going on to work for a reuse and recycling project, for Bristol Zoo Gardens and in national campaigns running campaigns for government ministers, amongst others.

Dave has a background in local government, including being a unitary authority councillor since age 24, serving for 17 years in Wiltshire and Somerset, and is currently Deputy Leader of Bath & North East Somerset Council.   Council highlights include leading the Council’s ‘plant 100,000 trees’ target, driving up recycling rates and advocating for natural flood management.  Dave was Lead Local Flood Authority Chair and sat on the boards of the Wessex Regional Flood & Coastal Committee and the erstwhile Mendip Hills AONB.

Aran smiling in front of a beach

Aran Shaunak

Head of Business Development & Director

Tracing a path through stem cell laboratories, big-name charities, two-person startups, university classrooms and even burning buildings, Aran’s winding career defies simple categorisation. Instead it reflects his love of learning new things, diving into new challenges – and taking a few risks! Whilst working at FoodUnfolded (a not-for-profit seeking to reconnect people with their food and where it comes from) he became acutely aware of the urgency of the climate and biodiversity crises, which shifted his focus towards supporting the recovery of our natural environment. Ever since he’s been searching for more ways to make a positive difference in the areas of climate, biodiversity and social cohesion.

Having worked in everything from tiny companies through to world-leading charities including Wellcome, the Science Museum and Moorfields Eye Charity, Aran has seen the strengths and weaknesses typical of both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors – and believes that we don’t have to choose between economically practical and ethically positive. He hopes to use his experience, energy and enthusiasm to help Avon Needs Trees do both at once, generating income that will help create new forests rather than just boosting shareholder profits.

Hilary Jeffkins

Director

Hilary is a biologist, naturalist and semi-retired wildlife filmmaker, with over 25 years’
experience at the BBC Natural History Unit. She now spends time as a mentor and
lecturer for young filmmakers and supports conservation work, both in the field and
with media consultancy.
In her past work she produced and directed multiple programmes in Britain and
worldwide and developed live wildlife programmes such as Springwatch. She has
won BAFTAs for The Really Wild and David Attenborough’s Life in Cold Blood series.
Her last major work was the BBC1 Wild Isles series on which she was both a series
producer and producer/director of the opening episode. Hilary lives in Bristol and can
be found mostly outdoors, walking, watching British wildlife and planting trees.

Dr Nick Murry FIEMA FHEA

Trustee - Sustainability & Climate Change consultant

Nick is one of ANT’s five Founding Trustees, now in his second term.

He is a sustainability and climate change professional with experience in both corporate sustainability management and environmental consultancy. Nick has worked in public and private sectors, in the UK and internationally, most recently advising organisations on their path to Net Zero.

Additionally, Nick is a Wiltshire Councillor and serves on Wiltshire Council’s ‘Environment Select Committee’ and its ‘Climate Emergency Task Group’. He also chairs ‘Zero North Wiltshire’, a Community Benefit Society supporting the delivery of community-led renewable energy.

Gavin Spittlehouse

Trustee - Woodland owner

Gavin took some time out from his IT career in 2015 and planted 15 acres of native woodland a few miles from his home in central Bristol. Along with a wealth of practical woodland skills Gavin has professional experience of managing teams of volunteers. He also keeps bees and is interested in agroforestry.

Cathy Bedford

Cathy Bedford

Trustee - Trusts and Foundations Fundraiser

Cathy Bedford is a freelance researcher, writer and trusts and foundations fundraiser, with ten years’ experience of working in the charity sector and a past career in documentary film-making at the BBC. Cathy grew up on a farm in Devon where she developed a deep love for the countryside and an interest in trees, rivers, natural history and rewilding. Now based in Bristol, when not working she spends her time playing the piano and cello, walking, swimming and wild gardening.

“For me Avon Needs Trees offers a fantastic focus for my interest in and concern about the natural world – a chance to impact positively, in practical ways, on a local scale, on our threatened environment”

John Chew

Trustee - Primary School Teacher and Forest School Leader

John has been a primary school teacher for over twenty years. His favourite subjects have always been science and geography, seizing every opportunity he can to introduce children to the wonders of the natural world. He is also an accredited Forest School Educator.

More recently, he has become passionate about sharing knowledge and understanding of climate change with children of all ages.

“I have found children to be very concerned about the state of the planet; the animals, forests and ecosystems that are being destroyed and sometimes lost for ever. Let’s get them re-engaged nature and encourage them to learn about our precious natural world. They are our future and perhaps our greatest hope in sorting out the mess we’ve created.”

Andy Chester

Trustee

Andy has a lifelong love of wild life and wild places which began on the heaths  and woods of Dorset and the New Forest. He has spent the last twenty years working at Natural England, creating opportunities for people to be in the English countryside. He cut his teeth on the roll out of open access rights – the so called ‘right to roam’ – and was a founding member of the team that is creating the England Coast Path. He brings experience of balancing and reconciling outdoor recreation with safety, nature conservation, farming and other land uses.

Stuart Hales

Trustee - Reserves Manager

Stuart Hales has been working in nature conservation for 25 years. After some years volunteering he worked in the charitable sector, managing nature reserves for The Avon Wildlife Trust. Since 2007 he has worked for Natural England as the Senior Reserve Manager for Wiltshire’s National Nature Reserves. He brings practical experience of managing woodlands for biodiversity and a passion for our native woodland habitats.