Directors
Nigel Spring
Nigel taught environmental studies in a Dorset Middle School for 14 years before setting up and running The Kingcombe Centre from 1987 until 2004. He is closely involved with the management of the Butterfly Conservation reserves in Dorset and for several years was responsible for the education section of Butterfly Conservation’s website. In 2007 Nigel established EuCAN through The Kingcombe Trust with three consecutive tranches of EU Leonardo da Vinci funding. Since 2011 EuCAN has been a Community Interest Company (CIC) working with contractors, trainees and volunteers largely in Dorset and Somerset while maintaining some contacts with the European partners. Nigel is also one of the directors of the Portland Nature CIC.
Gwilym Wren
Gwil worked for the Nature Conservancy Council, English Nature and Natural England for almost 30 years before leaving in April 2014. Whilst there he undertook a variety of roles including Land Agent, Publicity Manager, Parliamentary Advisor, Senior Planning Adviser and Team Manager. He has worked mainly in the south and southwest of England and has an excellent knowledge of its wildlife and the challenges that faces it.
He co-led the EuCAN conservation visit to western Poland in 2009 and organised the return visit by our Polish partner, ETNA, to Dorset in 2011. Between 2017 and 2020 he coordinated a series of international workshops on Sustainable Forestry including the UK, Serbia and Estonia. In 2019 he lead a EuCAN study tour to Vojodina Province in Serbia.
He has established strong links in the Balkans and has visited Serbia, Croatia, Hungary and Albania in recent years. Following the UK’s departure from the EU he is interested in helping to organise self funded tours to remote and less travelled corners of Europe.
Gwil is also developing the concept of Wildlife Havens (“Pop Up Knepps”) a radical idea to reverse the decline of wildlife and habitats in the countryside by the limited rewilding of pockets of land across an area over a 15 years cycle.
Gwil is currently a Unitary Councillor in Somerset.