Vince Lea

Conservation Officer

Vince has been part of the CRT for over 15 years and his main role is to support the conservation work at Lark Rise Farm in Cambridgeshire. Helped by a great team of volunteers, they assess the wildlife friendly farming with standardised monitoring techniques, including mapping and counting the number of breeding bird territories every year, counting birds in winter months, monitoring the butterfly numbers and assessing plant communities both in arable fields and grasslands. 

Most of the land at Lark Rise is managed by tenant farmer Tim Scott, but Vince's role includes helping to look after the non-farmed areas through habitat management. Together with volunteers, he can be found hedge-laying and coppicing in the winter months or clearing Himalayan Balsam in the summer. Vince has a particular focus on the Bourn Brook, about a quarter of which flows through the farm, and has a lot of ecological problems associated with it. He takes a whole catchment approach working with communities and other organisations. 

One of the early successes has been the removal of American Mink and subsequent return of Water Voles, which has led to the Waterlife Recovery project which aims to eradicate mink from Great Britain. Again supported by a team of volunteers, Vince helps to oversee the Waterlife Recovery work across Cambridgeshire alongside Emily Coleman. He works with hundreds of different people through the year, ranging from volunteers who have been involved with the CRT for even longer than Vince, through to youngsters undertaking their Duke of Edinburgh awards.

Vince's fascination with the biological world has encompassed studying plant genetics, particularly focussing on agricultural crops, as well as ecological and environmental subjects.

"My concerns about the environment were expressed through volunteering in conservation projects, while working in plant breeding, but now working for the CRT means I can devote my whole life to this vital issue. I still spend my spare time on conservation volunteering projects or supporting wildlife surveys, as part of numerous local and national organisations."

"I am a regular contributor to The Lark, and like to spread the word about CRT by talking to the local radio station or giving talks; in fact, I am always happy to talk about wildlife with anyone!"

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