Volunteer Profile: Chris Driver

What is your background?
I studied Landscape Architecture at Leeds Polytechnic during the 1970s. After qualification I worked in Lancashire, London and the Middle East, eventually starting my own landscape consultancy in 1992 with two colleagues in Hampshire. In 1997 I took a sabbatical year at Bangor University to study for an MSc in Ecology (which also gave me the opportunity to fulfil a long-held ambition to appear on ‘University Challenge'!) and since 2006 I have worked as a freelance landscape and environmental consultant, based in Cheshire. My recent projects include a feasibility study for a new wetland nature reserve by the river Weaver in Nantwich.

What volunteer work are you involved with?
I work for one day a week at Bickley Hall Farm, answering requests from Local Planning Authorities in Cheshire for comments on planning applications. These are usually in connection with proposed development that could have an impact on protected species or habitats. In most cases, an ecological survey is submitted with the application, and my role is to determine (from the Trust's point of view) whether the impacts have been accurately identified, assessed and mitigated by the applicant, and whether opportunities for the enhancement of biodiversity have been taken up. The Trust is often contacted by members of the public who are worried about specific planning applications and their possible impacts on wildlife, and I try to follow these up by getting in touch with the people concerned.

Why do you volunteer?
Partly because I have the time to allow me to do so, but also because I enjoy working with an active conservation organisation. I feel that I am making a minor but positive contribution to increasing awareness of the Trust, and of the issues affecting wildlife in Cheshire. I am certainly learning more about the planning process, and how to operate within it.

What other interests do you have?
I am a birdwatcher, so try to get out and about in Cheshire and the Wirral – quite often doing bird surveys for the British Trust for Ornithology or my local natural history society in Nantwich. Digital cameras have revived my interest in photography, and I also read (a lot), swim (regularly), cook (enthusiastically) and garden (somewhat reluctantly).