My 18 + years working for the BTCV Group started after meeting the then Chief Executive of the charity Ian Branton at a UK200 job interview. I subsequently received a call from a Peter Thompson and Rob Morley to meet at the then Environment Centre in Shelton Street, London.
Thinking it was a business meeting I turned up in my suit to be met by the two of them in suits. For those who remember Shelton Street, it was all woolly jumpers, beards and sandals ( for the men anyway) so we stuck out like sore thumbs. Imagine my surprise when I was offered a job as Operations Director South for Conservation Practice Ltd, BTCV’s trading arm. The business focused on unemployment programmes especially the Community programme. Peter assured me that it was easy work, one year on, one year off. Don’t know what happened to the year off but many years and assorted programmes later BTCV Enterprises as it became known generated 100’s of thousands of pounds every year. Culminating in a Private Sector New Deal collaborative venture that for some years generated a half a million pounds a year to empower BTCV to undertake a huge amount of conservation work.
My latter years with BTCV were as Development Director and my proudest moment was winning a huge grant for the Environment for All programme and leading a great diverse team of colleagues who are still firm friends. Despite avoidance as my personal life was complex, I also got the conservation bug taking my young children on weekend tasks and became a firm environmentalist. I will always love BTCV as I often said it was and is the builders bottom of the environmental world. “Earthy, & Arsey , but you can’t take your eyes of it”.
Great people , amazing contribution to the UK’s environment and helping people to reconnect with their Green spaces for the benefit of future generations. i am still involved as A member and friend of TCV and hope it regains it premier position in the conservation world.