Meet our staff and some of our volunteers who carry out the essential day-to-day work of the organisation.

David Ramsden MBE

Head of Conservation

David has been employed by the Trust since 1990; he is responsible for managing the Trust's conservation, educational and research work and designing the projects that the Trust undertakes. Staff training and public speaking are also part of his role. He is a BTO ringer and has fitted rings to over a thousand wild Barn Owls.

Barn Owl conservation is a way of life for David; he's been fascinated by flight since he was a child. On the rare occasions when he's not working he is involved in DIY, playing and recording music and is interested in Native American traditions and microlight flying.

David was awarded an MBE for "Services to wildlife" in the Queens Birthday Honours List in June 2007.

Matthew Twiggs

Conservation Officer

Matthew started at the Trust in February 2007, in addition to advisory and practical conservation work on farms across Devon and Cornwall, he is responsble for the day-to-day management of the Trusts Lennon Legacy Project, our webcams and progressing BOT research projects. Matthew is a very keen birdwatcher and as a member of BOT’s conservation team he deals with a wide range of enquiries including planning and development cases.

Matthew worked in academic management for over ten years before deciding on a career change. He is a trained EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teacher with a degree in Linguistics from the University of Hull. He is currently studying for an MSc. in Countryside Conservation and Management through the University of the West of England, Bristol. As well as birding, his interests include all aspects of the natural world, in particular, butterflies and moths, and wild flowers. He also enjoys drawing and long-distance running.

Maxine Chavner

Assistant Conservation Officer

Maxine started working for the Trust in November 2008. Amongst other tasks, her role includes practical conservation work, providing habitat management advice to encourage Barn Owls and erecting nestboxes in appropriate locations. She also deals with day-to-day enquiries, health and safety and is responsible for the casualty and resident owls here at the Trust and the rehabilitation and release of injured wild birds that come into our Owl Hospital.

Having moved to Devon in 2004, Maxine now lives in South Devon with her partner and their 4 cats. She has a BSc (Hons) Wildlife Conservation degree from Plymouth University and loves walking on Dartmoor and along the South West Coast Path. Maxine also thoroughly enjoys surfing, swimming, yoga, skiing, gardening, listening to loads of music and reading all the natural history literature she can get her hands on. She is whole-heartedly devoted to the natural world!

Stuart Baker

Assistant Conservation Officer

Stuart started a twelve-month contract with the Trust at the beginning of March 2009. He has been taken on to help with practical conservation work. He is providing habitat management advice and erecting nestboxes primarily for our Westmoor Project. He also deals with day-to-day enquiries and helps care for the casualty and resident owls here at the Trust.

He grew up in Northampton and moved to Devon in 2008 after graduating from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge with a zoology degree. He has always had a keen interest in animals of all types and shares his home with two lizards, ten snakes of various species, and assorted invertebrates including a scorpion, a giant centipede and about thirty tarantulas. He is looking forward to exploring the West Country.

Sarah Nelms

PA to Head of Conservation

Sarah started working for the Trust in November 2009. Her role as PA is primarily to provide support for the Head of Conservation and other members of the conservation team. It’s a diverse role and can involve an array of activities from general admin to practical conservation work. She is also responsible for organising courses for ecological consultants and dealing with enquiries. Alongside her main PA role, Sarah also carries out the school visits on behalf of the Trust assisted by the star of the show, Baley the Barn Owl.

Sarah grew up in Somerset but moved across the border to Devon in 2004 to study BSc Environmental Biology at the University of Plymouth. She now lives with her partner in Plymouth and they love living by the sea. Sarah is passionate about conservation and has been involved in various volunteer projects including working with the BTCV, Moor Trees, the Marine Conservation Society and a Loggerhead Turtle conservation project in Kefalonia, Greece. She is also interested in travel and has visited Mexico, Iceland, Morocco, France, Spain, Italy, Greece, Thailand and Cambodia. She enjoys working on her allotment, walking the moor and coast and is a budding wildlife photographer.

Jackie Atkinson

Jackie started with the Trust at the beginning of February 2009 as Admin Officer working three days a week prior to taking on the role of Office Manager. She wanted to obtain an overview of the various administration tasks undertaken by the Trust so that she can offer help and support to other members of staff.

Jackie was born and raised in South Devon, loves the seaside and the moors and cannot imagine living anywhere else in this country. She has spent most of her working life within Solicitors' offices starting as a Secretary then ultimately as an Office Administrator, only branching out into other areas in 2005 to work in smaller, more personal environments. In her spare time she likes to get out in the fresh air, travel, walk and swim in the sea (although not in this country “it's too cold”). During the winter months she spends time with her cat, reads, knits and socialises.

Pete Webb

Administration Assistant / Reception

Pete started work here in April 2003 as the first full-time admin assistant. He answers the phone and is responsible for the Trust's recycling, office buying and vehicle admin. He also deals with anyone wanting to book a talk, school visit or provide a home for a BOT donation box.

Most of his working background was in service industries, initially as a self-employed shopkeeper and later as a cleaning contractor. He was manager at Ashburton Information Centre for over 4 years until he was made redundant, and then worked at Totnes Tourist Information Centre until coming here. Pete moved to Devon in 1974 to attend Exeter Art College. He and his wife Viv have 4 children and 5 grandchildren. In his spare time he walks, runs and cycles. He also enjoys researching and writing, mainly about local history, which is another interest, photography, painting and reading.

Caroline Lewis

Publicity Officer

Caroline joined the Trust in September 2006. Her previous experience includes working for a local newspaper, an advertising and design agency and most recently a marketing consultancy. Caroline enjoys generating awareness and publicity for the Trust by writing press releases, organising and attending events and coming up with new fundraising ideas. In her spare time she enjoys running, graphic design, photography and taking walks with her cocker spaniel dog.

Maz Bryan

Administration Assistant / Reception

Marianne (or Maz for short) started volunteering at the Trust for a few hours a week in October 2009 to clean the aviaries. Having spotted her potential, she was recruited as a Receptionist and Admin Assistant in November. Maz answers the telephone, email and postal queries and is dealing with our Friends and Adoption schemes. She also helps out with all our other “admin processes” and occasionally, still gets out to clean the aviaries.

She spent her childhood in Devon before moving up north to study Philosophy at York University in 2003. After graduating she worked as an Admin Assistant in the buying department of a large fair-trade wholesaler and retailer - Shared Earth, until the fresh West Country sea air pulled her back home in September 2009. Maz has always been passionate about animals and wildlife, she has always loved Owls so feels very privileged to be working here. In April 2008 she spent 10 weeks volunteering with a conservation organisation in Nicaragua monitoring Bats, Butterflies and Birds, as well as attempting to climb volcanoes! In her spare time she likes going to the cinema, gigs and festivals, reading, walking, knitting, listening to music, visiting friends and Morris dancing.

Liza Gunning

Admin Assistant

Liza began working for the Trust one day a week in December 2007. She is bringing the Trust’s legacy database up to speed, talking to solicitors’ offices, sending out our legacy leaflet packs and hopefully raising the potential for increased funding from that area.

Born in Plymouth, she has lived in the Ashburton area for twenty-six years and has been a stay-at-home mum for most of the past twenty-two years with a couple of years as a classroom assistant at a local primary school and helping out in the family business. Although she has no previous experience in conservation or related fields, she loves the countryside and animals and gives thanks on a daily basis for living in such a beautiful part of the world. She enjoys walking, riding, reading, cooking, and spending time with friends and family.

Vanessa Owen

Admin Assistant

Vanessa started working part-time at the Trust in November 2009. She is helping with our Adoption scheme, general admin, publicity and educational resources.

Vanessa describes herself as an 'escaped teacher' having recently moved to Devon from the West Midlands where she taught Art in comprehensive schools and to teenagers excluded from school. She is also self-employed as web presence developer for local small businesses. Vanessa builds and manages 2 websites: ArtyNess.co.uk and Zen Moments.org - a joint project with her partner, Alan Lewis. Vanessa has two sons, both at university. She loves walking in nature, drawing, being creative, choral singing and yoga.

Tim Gove

Handyman

Tim started volunteering for the Trust at the beginning of June 2005 and was employed 2 days a week in January 06. He turns his hand to any practical tasks that need doing around the place including plumbing in taps, fixing motion sensor lights around the office and barn, finishing off the new aviary and re-roofing the area outside the office and somehow, he finds time to keep our vehicles clean.

He used to be a plumber/ heating engineer and spent 20 years in the building trade. He then decided to change direction and became a care assistant and then a nurse, caring mainly for the elderly and the mentally and terminally ill. Originally from Hampshire, Tim and his family moved to Devon in 2003. In his free time Tim plays golf, enjoys archaeology and listens to a vast range of music.

Jasmin Ramsden

Practical Support

Jasmin started working for the Trust in October 2008 on a short-term contract to build our new Owl Hospital facilities and aviaries. Having completed this project she began work in March 2009 on our new mobile aviary. In July she moved on to a more permanent role - two days a week as practical support. She joins the conservation team for workdays in the Lennon Legacy Project field, builds our outdoor nestboxes and tackles a wide range of other practical tasks here at the Trust.

Having previously been working as a chef, Jasmin decided on a career change to make use of her extensive DIY skills. In her free time she likes to write and play music, be outside, garden, and play computer games. She has two cats, Manny and Bernard.

Alan Lewis

IT Support

Alan started working with the Trust in October 2001. He is a self-employed computer consultant and database designer. He works closely with the staff and trustees offering computer and website support. He is also responsible for developing our extensive database, which enables us to record and monitor our work.

He spent 17 years as a Buddhist monk in England, Thailand and Sri Lanka and developed his core computer skills in the monasteries, which started using computers in the late ‘80's to assist with their administration. He has a people-friendly approach to IT and enjoys offering computer support to a wide range of interesting organisations and people in Devon. He has 2 web sites: Calm IT and Zen Moments, which he manages along with his partner, Vanessa Owen