Antony 'Aj' Bellamy Regional Wetlands Adviser Expand Aj graduated from Plymouth University in 1996 and has worked mostly in Devon in the conservation land management and ecology sector; briefly for Devon Wildlife Trust, then RSPB for 15 years based at the Exe Estuary Reserves and six years with the National Trust on Dartmoor. Aj joined FWAG SW, in Jan 2021 and has been working with landowners across the southwest designing, advising and practically delivering wetlands including the restoration of existing farm ponds, replacing ghost ponds lost to the landscape and designing large-scale wetland sites including Pawlett Hams and Steart in somerset and Elmore Court in Glos.
George Clifton Great Crested Newt Pond Project Officer Expand George joined FWAG SW in 2021 as the Great Crested New Pond Project Officer, he works across Somerset, South Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire. He provides advice to landowners and farmers on how to qualify for the project both through pond creation and restoration to increase the amount of habitat suitable for Great Crested Newts. He coordinates and plans the construction/restoration of ponds and follows up with eDNA sampling to review the success of the pond. George studied a Masters in Biology at Leiden University in the Netherlands, focussing on Biodiversity and Sustainability. Before this he obtained a BSc Environmental Science at the University of the West of England. George has carried out research on a range of species including investigating hybridisation of Marbled Newts in Portugal.
Karina Ponton Assistant Regional Woodland Adviser Expand Karina is a part-time regional woodland adviser who joined Fwag in April 2022. She undertakes a full range of woodland advice services across the region including woodland management plans, woodland creation (planning grants and English Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO)), ancient woodland surveys and higher tier. Karina is also self-employed, working for various organisations including the Landworkers’ Alliance, The Rewild Project CIC and on a female/non-binary forestry team. Having undertaken a BSc in Environmental Science at the University of Southampton, a year-long practical permaculture course at Shift Bristol and an MSc in Environmental Forestry at Bangor University, she is focusing on practical and agroecological solutions to the climate and ecological crises. Previous projects include working with the Permaculture Association to undertake a ten-year review of UK temperate mutlistrata agroforestry systems and a social forestry with young people for the Landworkers’ Alliance.
Simeon Day Regional Hedgerow, Orchard and Agroforestry Specialist Expand Simeon joined FWAG SW in February 2021 as Manager of the Hedgerow Conservation Project on the National Trust Killerton Estate near Exeter. Working with tenant farmers and the Trust’s ranger team the Green Recovery Challenge Fund project restored and created hedgerows across the 6,500 acre estate. Simeon has worked in the countryside management industry for over 25 years where his roles have taken him from tree surgery in Australia to installing forest school facilities in the South West, via managing Nature Reserves and leading team building events that deliver practical conservation projects for charities across the UK. As FWAG SW Regional Hedgerow, Orchard and Agroforestry Specialist Simeon provides advice and training across the region to advisers, farmers and organisations on the management of trees outside of woodlands. He leads the FWAG SW Tree Team. Simeon is Chair of Orchards Live, a charity working to save and replant traditional orchards and local apple varieties in Devon.