Staff
For general enquiries, please email info@merseyrivers.org
Paul Henbrey - Director
Paul has been with the Mersey Rivers Trust since November 2016 following a 36 year career in the water industry. Previous roles include Head of Ww Strategy, Ww Process Manager and Project Manager.
Experienced Strategic Planner, Project Manager and Asset Manager. Led the development of United Utilities Catchment Wise initiative aimed at supporting the CaBA and encouraging partnership working.
Current Role – Director MRT
John Sanders - Director
Director - Strategy and Project Development
Clare Bullen - Assistant Director
Clare has a background in catchment management and 19 years of experience in the water industry. She joined the Mersey Rivers Trust in 2024, taking on a new role as assistant director to support the organisation’s long-term leadership development and build capacity. The role involves collaborating with directors, project teams, and external partners to develop and deliver the Trust's objectives. Clare enjoys the varied nature of her role and the opportunity to work with all the teams and partners across the Mersey catchment.
Clare is a Chartered Member of the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, and a Chartered Environmentalist.
Sal Potts - Senior Project Manager
Sally is a Senior Project Manager with over 12 years experience in the field of countryside management, and more recent experience of project management and community development. As a Country Park Warden at various sites in North Wales, Sally was involved in controlling Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) at ecologically sensitive sites, carrying out restoration of limestone grassland and maritime heathland, surveying for rare species and delivering educational programmes to schools. Sally began her career as a volunteer for the Great Basin Institute where she was involved in delivery of desert habitat restoration projects and creating public access in the Great Basin National Park, Nevada, USA.
In her current position as Senior Project Manager, Sally co-ordinates a strategic, catchment-wide response to the threat of INNS in the Bollin Catchment as well as developing projects to address water quality issues in this area. Liaising with over 20 stakeholder members, landowners and farmers she delivers practical conservation work, and also provides educational and training opportunities for local communities.
Lindsay Beaton - Senior Project Manager
Senior Project Manager for Greater Manchester/Cheshire.
Manages the Upper Mersey Catchment Partnership.
Andy Martin - Senior Project Manager
Andy joined The Mersey Rivers Trust in 2023 as a Senior Project Manager, overseeing projects in the Merseyside area, and hosting the Alt Crossens and Lower Mersey Catchment Partnerships.
Andy has over 20 years of experience of green space management and community engagement, most recently working as a Senior Project Manager for Groundwork CLM managing their outdoor education programme and Grozone Community
Garden in Northwich, and before that as a Countryside Warden for the Mersey Valley Warden Service in South Manchester.
Paul Corner - Project Manager
Paul is a Project Manager delivering projects in the Lower Mersey and the Alt/Crossens Catchments.
Paul is a qualified Ecologist who has worked in environmental project management and wildlife conservation for over 16 years including eight years with the Mersey Basin Campaign. His experience includes employment with BTCV (now TCV), Cheshire Wildlife Trust, and the Canal & River Trust as well as with Merseyside Environmental Advisor Service where he was lead officer on the development of the Liverpool City Region Ecological Framework. Paul has a BSc in Countryside Management and is a full member of the Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management (CIEEM).
Rebecca Howard - NFM Programme Manager
Rebecca joined the Trust in November 2016 after graduating from Lancaster University with a BSc (Hons) Physical Geography degree. She started out as Project Coordinator for the ‘Call of Nature’ project in Alt/Crossens and then became a Project Manager in 2018, leading on various wetland creation, NFM and community engagement projects. Her current role involves overseeing the Alt Catchment NFM programme and undertaking monitoring.
Warren Andrew - Project Manager
Warren started his working life with a 4 year apprenticeship in engineering and later moved into construction (architectural glazing). More recently he worked in building and property maintenance. Before coming to MRT, Warren was contracted to North West Ambulance Service where he was the area manager of the Ambulance Make Ready teams in Mcr Central and Wigan stations.
Warren has been angler for 4 decades and fished through all the various disciplines. He began fly fishing in his late teens and is really passionate about fly fishing and fly tying. He has fly fished all over the country from the River Tweed, Teviot and Clyde down to the southern chalkstreams of the rivers Test, Itchen and Frome and flies out to Bosnia every year to fish the river Ribnik and Pliva. He started guiding and teaching fly fishing 3 to 4 years ago and he loves passing on his knowledge and sharing his passion for fishing for wild fish.
Abbie Goodby - Project Manager
Abbie graduated from Bangor University with a masters degree in Zoology with Conservation and, after the end of the summer season doing outdoor education, she was successful in getting her first industry job as a Project Manager at Mersey Rivers Trust. Abbie helps with organising events and supporting projects, including the Norbury Projects. Abbie has a few tickets to help with the outdoor work and is looking forward to continue to learn more.
Abi Cutler - Project Manager
Abi is a Project Manager delivering habitat restoration and engagement projects in the Upper Mersey catchment. Abi came from a chemistry background and worked in inorganic environmental testing and quality control before finding her calling in the environmental sector. Before joining the Mersey Rivers Trust Abi gained experience and tickets in practical conservation with Lancashire Wildlife Trust and The Conservation Volunteers. She has a BSc in Chemistry, a diploma in work-based environmental conservation, and is currently studying towards a master’s degree in Conservation Biology.
Justine Lord - Project Manager
Justine is a Project Manager delivering projects in the Upper Mersey catchment. She began her conservation career at Dunham Massey NT, where she learned a lot about the local wildlife and gained valuable practical skills. Since then, she has worked at various places, including Shugborough NT, Tatton Park and Reaseheath College, where she gained valuable skills and experience in countryside management. She also holds a foundation degree in countryside management. She enjoys foraging and identifying mushrooms and insects, getting involved in practical work and most importantly looking after her menagerie of pets which include a Jumping spider, a millipede, a leopard gecko and a whippet called Winston.
Luke Swann - Project Manager & Blue Mentor
Luke is a Project Manager and Blue Mentor, leading the Blue Influencers Scheme at the Mersey Rivers Trust. With a passion for empowering young people and promoting environmental social action, Luke builds on his experience in charity and education settings to develop impactful, youth-led projects.
Natasha Jacob - Project Manager
Natasha is a qualified environmental social scientist with a background in Human Ecology (BSc) at the University of Kent. A keen interest in helping nature and people work better together, Natasha has an interdisciplinary background in interdisciplinary, Manchester-based consultancy Countryscape, project management of UK-based NHLF-funded and Horizon Europe projects, with Oppla – the EU repository for nature-based solutions. Natasha has joined Mersey Rivers Trust to project manage an EA-funded NFM project based in Alt Crossens, helping to reduce flooding in the Alt River catchment.
Ryan Teare - Project Assistant
Ryan joined the Mersey Rivers Trust in 2024 as a Project Assistant in the Natural Flood Management (NFM) programme for the River Alt/Crossens catchment. The previous summer he graduated from The University of Birmingham with a BSc in Environmental Science where he discovered his passion for freshwater ecology and management. His work for the trust looks to strengthen the Evidence Base for the effectiveness of NFMs at reducing peak discharge, increasing attenuation, and improving the river's overall health.
Amara Coombes - Trainee
Amara joined the Mersey Rivers Trust Team as a Farm Advice Trainee. Her interest in farming stems from spending most of her early life working on and around both farms and stables in the village where she lives. Amara graduated from Lancaster University in 2022 with a degree in Ecology and Conservation. After university, she spent some time working as a chef in Austria, monitoring sea turtles in Costa Rica, and caring for seals in Ireland, which has given her a broad range of experience. Amara is committed to pursuing a career in conservation, and is looking forward to learning new skills and knowledge during this traineeship.
Sophie Jennings - Trainee
Sophie is a Water Management Trainee. She has a BA (Hons) in Applied Arts specialising in ceramics. She worked in hospitality full time for 2 years, and realised that she wanted a career where she would be outside and helping the environment. Sophie went back into education and studied a Level 3 Diploma in Land and Wildlife Management. She likes identifying plants and animals that she finds on the arable farm where she lives.
Aidan Hubbard - Project Officer
Aidan is the Plastic Free Mersey Project Officer working in collaboration with Thames21 and local citizen scientistists to collect data on the state of plastic pollution in the Mersey catchment whilst engaging with local schools, communities and stakeholders to connect people to their river and aid in rejuvenating the Mersey waterways. He has a background in Marine Biology which he studied at Bangor University graduating in 2021 and afterwards completed his MSc in Marine and Coastal Resource Management at Chester University in 2023. Aidan has a specific passion for marine conservation and outside of work loves swimming, table tennis and powerlifting.
Paul Moseley - Farm Advisor
Mersey Rivers Trust Farm Advisor
Nicola Henbrey - Administration Officer
Nicola has previously worked within the Hospitality industry for 10 years before moving over into the Administration side for the last 4 years. Nicola joined the trust in November 2020 and handles the day to day admin, finance and purchasing.
Dianne Hough - Administration Officer
Administration Officer - Maternity cover