Spotlight On Leah McNally, CEO at Avon Wildlife Trust

Occasionally we like to shine the spotlight on our members, and in this case one of the members of the Bristol Initiative. We sat down with Leah McNally, CEO at Avon Wildlife Trust to talk about their work and their relationship with the Bristol Initiative.

Tell us about your role – what do you have responsibility for? What does a typical day look like?

In my role as CEO at Avon Wildlife Trust, I provide strategic direction for our charity and guidance and support for our senior leadership team. I work closely with our dynamic Board of Trustees, who volunteer their time and share their skills to make a difference to our charity and for nature’s recovery across our region.

There is a lot of variety in my role, but communication and people are two key themes of a typical day. I love meeting with our partners, supporters and local communities. I want to ensure that access to and engagement with nature is a right for all. Young people often struggle with access to jobs in the environmental sector, and I'm keen to change that in our region.
 

What does your organisation do? Why do you like working for them? 

We are the largest local charity working to protect wildlife and inspire people through nature in the West of England. Our mission is to safeguard Avon’s cherished green and blue spaces and to promote the multiple benefits that nature can bring for everyone, whether they live in a town, city or the countryside.

It’s our 45th anniversary this year, and we’ve been reflecting on the successes of our amazing team of staff and volunteers through the years, and the support from our members and supporters that helped us achieve so much. There’s still much to do, and we are facing some serious and urgent challenges to help nature recover and adapt to a changing climate. However, one of the most enjoyable parts of my role is leading a team that is positive about the future and has the skills and enthusiasm to achieve our goal of nature in recovery. 

We’re working with landowners in the countryside across our region to reverse the decline in wildlife and create connected living landscapes. Our community organising for nature ‘Team Wilder’ movement is providing inspiration and support for communities, individuals, and young people to take action for nature in their local area. We’re preparing the next green leaders through our outdoor learning experiences – bringing children and educators closer to nature, to inspire a long-lasting connection with our natural world.

Why have you joined the Bristol Initiative?

I am keen to build partnerships to strengthen our approach to restoring and protecting nature. We can only restore nature at scale across our region if there are a wide range of local people, businesses and landowners involved. I’m keen to collaborate and co-create new initiatives with shared outcomes in mind.

What are the key agendas that you’re looking forward to getting involved with? 

Through putting nature and people at the forefront, we will be able to make progress towards addressing the ecological and climate emergencies. I am interested in working with partners to ensure sustainable growth where nature and development are integrated and work in harmony to achieve a wide range of benefits for local people. By creating nature-rich neighbourhoods, people will have improved outcomes from health and wellbeing to better climate resilience and social cohesion, to name but a few.

Nature is the one thing that can help us unlock many of the issues we face today. I am looking to secure financial and pro-bono support for our charity to help us make bold steps towards nature’s recovery across our region. I’d love to connect so please do get in touch. 

Where is your favourite place to visit in Bristol?

I am actually new to Bristol so have been enjoying exploring the city and seeing how places link up. I love the areas around the old docks and also the Gloucester Road. There is so much to see and get to know, and I'm looking forward to taking in more of what the city has to offer. Last summer I visited the Georgian House Museum on Great George Street, which was brilliant - little did I know that, a year on, I’d be joining Avon Wildlife Trust as their new CEO and working at our office only a few doors down from the Museum!

If you'd like to follow Leah on social media you can do so on Linkedin here, and you can find out more about Avon Wildlife Trust on their website, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. Also, if you are a member of The Bristol Initiative and would like to be featured in a blog just like this one then you can get in touch with Jenny.