President - Lord Cavendish of Furness

Vice President -

Due to the sad death of Fred French, SCRT currently does not have a Vice President.

Chairman - Mark Southern

Family originally from Cumbria, Mark and his family have now lived here for eleven years, in the Crake Valley. Previously a shipping lawyer in London and the Middle East, Mark now farms a herd of pedigree Dexter cattle. A founder member of the forerunner to SCRT (Leven & Crake Conservation Trust) Mark is the present Chairman of SCRT.

Vice Chairman - Roger Sweeting, BSc PhD FIFM FLS CEnv

With a background is in freshwater fish, their parasites, health and diseases, Roger is the Vice Chairman of SCRT. Historically in Thames Water, the National Rivers Authority and the Environment Agency he worked on the effects of water quality changes on aquatic communities. Currently as an Honorary Research Fellow at the Freshwater Biological Association he is involved in a restoration  programme  for the endangered freshwater pearl mussel.

Secretary - Dickon Knight

Dickon was brought up in Cumbria and returned with his family in 1993 to run the Holker Estate, which he did for 13 years. A Chartered Surveyor by profession, he has been involved with land management all his working life and has always been keen of river management. He now has a private practice working locally and also runs an electronic company, which has recently brought out a new state of the art electrofishing backpack. He is a founder member of the Trust and it's forerunner.

Treasurer - Dickon Knight

Since the retirement of Chris Potts, Dickon is taking on the role of Honorary Treasurer in addition to the Secretary role until the role is filled.

Trust Manager - Pete Evoy

Pete joined South Cumbria Rivers Trust in the Autumn of 2010 following 17 years service as a Fisheries Officer with  the National Rivers Authority and later the Environment Agency. He arrived in Cumbria in 1993 straight from Reaseheath College of Agriculture, Nantwich in his native county of Cheshire where he studied countryside management. He has worked within all the catchments of South Cumbria since this time and is well acquainted with the issues that face South Cumbria Rivers Trust. Pete is a keen outdoor man who loves where he lives and works. He is keen to help develop the work of the Trust and be involved in real improvements to the water environment of South Cumbria.

Projects Officer - Emma Dyson

Emma started her role as Projects Officer in November 2011, with which half of her time is dedicated to working with the Coniston and Crake Catchment Partnership. Emma studied Biology at the University of York after which she spent a year travelling and gaining work experience with The Nature Conservancy and with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust. Emma is looking forward to getting to know South Cumbria (as she is originally from Worcester) and working together with the local communities to maintain and improve its aquatic environment.

Cumbria FINNS Coordinator - Bekka Corrie-Close

Bekka studied Zoology at The University of Liverpool and moved up to Cumbria in 2008 where she worked at the Freshwater Biological Association. She then specialised in invasive non-native species as a surveyor at a consulatancy in Manchester before moving back up to Cumbria to become the Cumbria Freshwater Invasive Non-Native Species Initiative Coordinator in April 2010. Bekka loves being outdoors and getting muddy and wet!

Technical Officer - Mike Sturt, BSc, MSc, PhD

Mike joined the South Cumbria Rivers Trust in March 2012 after working for the Tees Rivers Trust on a sediment reduction project. He has a wide range of experiences in freshwater ecology which he gained through his MSc in ecology and PhD in freshwater ecology. Mike has specialised in aquatic food webs, 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' control of nuisance algae and ecosystem services. Previously, Mike has worked for the Environment Agency, The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and environmental consultancy groups. Mike has a keen interest in fishing and outdoor activities. He is keen to develop his role within SCRT to build a comprehensive monitoring program for fish, invertebrates and pressures on the aquatic environment in South Cumbria.

Trustee - Julius Barratt

Resident for 12 years beside the river Leven after many years away from Cumbria, first in South Africa for ten years and then Surrey for twenty years. A career in the wine trade kept Julius away from the Lake District, but it was always a place for holidays with plans for a return. Julius is a member of the committee of the Leven Angling Association of some twenty five years standing and founder member of the Leven & Crake Conservation Trust which was the beginnings of the South Cumbria Rivers Trust.

Trustee - Hal Bagot  FRICS, JP, DL

A Chartered Surveyor by profession, Hal is married and has four grownup children. He has lived at Levens Hall nearly all of his life and manages the House which is open to visitors and the mixed agricultural estate which includes two in-hand farms and varius let farms. The Levens Estate has several sections of the River Kent system from the upper reaches of Selside, a section south of Kendal and finally a section from Force Bridge to below Levens Bridge. Hal is a keen angler and conservationist. 

Trustee - Jeff Carroll

Jeff represents the Coniston and Crake catchment. He has a keen interest in game angling, particularly for Arctic Charr. He is Chair of Coniston and Torver District Angling Association and has been involved in conservation issues within the Coniston catchment for over fifteen years. Jeff was involved in lobbying to provide the recently installed phosphate removal equipment of the Consiton waste water treatment works and has a lifetime's observation of changes to the catchment.

Trustee - John Cleaver

John's background is in IT, mainly in the pharmaceutical industry . He has been resident in Cumbria for 26 years, living beside the River Crake. His interests are many and varied but have generally been concerned with the great outdoors, particularly mountains and water, where he has enjoyed climbing, ski touring, sea kayaking, cycle touring and of course fishing; in the Lake District and many other more remote parts of the world. He has been active in the management of two local clubs with interests on the Crake, Duddon and Kent. John performed the role of SCRT Manager for the first 6 months on a voluntary basis before the Trust got it's first full time employee.

Trustee - Ian McMurdo

Ian is especially interested in the River Bela catchment. He is also Chairman of Milnthorpe Angling Association in which capacity he is heavily involved in the river improvement work carried out by the club. A keen naturalist and biologist he is trained electro fishing techniques and Riverfly Partnership checks on both Kent and Bela.

Trustee - Colin High

As secretary of The Duddon River Association, Colin's sphere of operation lies in the furthest west of the five catchment areas in South Cumbria. In addition to the River Duddon, The Duddon River Association also includes the River Lickle, Kirkby Pool and Black Beck, all of which contain wild brown trout and sustain a healthy run of Salmon and Sea Trout. The declared aim of Association is to improve the River Duddon and it's tributaries for the benefit of all wildlife.

Trustee - Les Higgins

With a background in education and working with communities, Les is Secretary of the Coniston and Crake Catchment Partnership, a Torver Parish Councillor, and Secretary of the Coniston & Torver District Angling Association. Living uphill from Torver Beck and close to Coniston Water, he ascribes his obsession with water to being born under Aquarius the Water Carrier - "the man who carries the can".

Trustee - John Martin

John has worked in the outdoor environment all his working life, firstly in the private forestry industry then in the water industry as a Fisheries Officer in the northwest region for twenty-five years before establishing his wildlife surveying company.  He chairs the Furness and South Cumbria Fisheries Consultative Association.