Local wildlife charity's chairman receives MBE

Mike Master, Chairman of Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust, has received an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours for his services to wildlife and conservation.

Mike Master has been volunteering for the Trust since 2007, first as a Trustee and since 2009 as the Chairman. He was instrumental in the Trust’s purchase of Amwell Nature Reserve in the Lee Valley in 2006 and his contribution has been vital in establishing Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust as the leading voice for wildlife in Hertfordshire and Middlesex.

Wildlife is so important for our health and wellbeing and we should all do what we can to protect it.

Mike Master

Mike Master said the award came “out of the blue” and that he was delighted to have received it. He said: “Wildlife is so important for our health and wellbeing and we should all do what we can to protect it.”

Lesley Davies, the Trust’s Chief Executive, says: “We are overjoyed and proud that Mike has been awarded an MBE for his services to wildlife and conservation in Hertfordshire and Middlesex. A well-deserved reward for his dedication which will hopefully raise more awareness for our wildlife.”

The award comes at a time when wildlife is declining rapidly, as Hertfordshire’s State of Nature, published by the Trust in 2020, shows. One-fifth of the species assessed in this report are either extinct or threatened with extinction in a Hertfordshire context. The Trust is calling to protect at least 30% of land for wildlife to halt the biodiversity decline.