Introducing the new Senior Development Manager!
We are pleased to say that the Freshwater Biological Association has hired a new Senior Development Manager of the Riverfly Partnership, Henry Marriner. Henry has written a few words below.
L-R: Riverfly Partnership Co-chair Simon Johnson, Co-ordinator Ellen Burton, Senior Development Manager Henry Marriner, Co-chair Steve Brooks
Hello all, my name is Henry and I’ve just joined the Riverfly Partnership as the new Senior Development Manager. There has been a fair amount of staff changes with Simon taking over from Louise as co-chair, Emma heading off on maternity leave and Trine completing her last day in January. Despite this, Ellen at Riverfly HQ has kept operations ticking along smoothly and Riverfly has continued to grow in every aspect.
It’s an exciting time to be joining the team and I feel very privileged to help develop and build the partnership further. My career to date has been a varied one; I’ve served a decade in the military as a Royal Navy Diver, spent three years in South East Asia clearing land mines and other unexploded weaponry for an international NGO, but more recently (and far more relevantly) I’ve enjoyed the last 4 years living in Cornwall working for Westcountry Rivers Trust. Life in Cornwall has been lovely and I feel very lucky to spend my free time spearfishing, rowing, and walking the coast path with my wife and our ten-month-old son, Rudy. And our dog, Debbie, too!
My time at WRT first introduced me to the many pressures on our freshwater ecosystems, but also to the many different solutions to combat these negative drivers. I’ve seen some fairly bleak river catchments and I know how disheartening it can be to survey an area and see consistent decline. However, for every negative driver there are many creative solutions and interventions to offset and undo these harmful effects.
Last week I enjoyed a crash course in RMI from Riverfly co-founder Steve and coordinator Ellen, and it’s fair to say I was spoiled with some very healthy rivers up in the Peak District. Now I’m looking forward to growing the partnership, building relationships, and expanding our reach to bring RMI to more of the United Kingdom, whilst keeping operations running smoothly and Riverfly moving in an upward trajectory.
To all of our hubs, coordinators and, crucially, our citizen scientists, thank you for the excellent work thus far and I look forward to working with you all in the immediate future.
