Mark was the founding Chairman of the Board of Trustees for SBBT back on May 9th 2017. Mark has come to the end of his term as Chairman and the board of trustees is now seeking a new Chairperson.
Mark has worked tirelessly for the trust over the last eight years, including overseeing two highly successful on-line conference attended by people from around the world. Conservation projects in which has been deeply involved include the Queen Alexandra’s Birdwing, Richmond Birdwing, Homerus Swallowtail, Kinabalu Birdwing, Natewa Swallowtail, Bhutan Glory and, of course, the Swallowtail (Papilio machaon britannicus) here in the UK.
Mark spent most of his career as an entomologist and tropical ecologist, specialising in the conservation of insects and other invertebrates. He trained in natural sciences at Wadham College, Oxford, and at Imperial College, London, and has an MBA from the Open University. Formerly he was employed at the UN Environment Programme in Nairobi, and was Director of the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre in Cambridge, amongst other positions.
Mark has 11 books and more than 150 published articles to his name. Notable amongst these are Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: the IUCN Red Data Book (with Mike Morris) and Swallowtail Butterflies: An Action Plan for their Conservation (with Tim New).
In 2000 Mark was awarded the Royal Geographical Society Busk Medal “for contributions to conservation policy and research”. As well as being a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, he is also a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and Chair of the Broads Society. He lives near Cambridge and has a basecamp in the heartland of the UK’s swallowtail country – the Norfolk Broads.
Mark will remain heavily involved in the trust as he was recently elected to the honorary role of President of the trust. Thankyou Mark for all you have done for the trust over the past eight years—and we look forward to continuing to work with you in the future.
Martin Partridge
