Adam Taylor here, the new and very proud CEO of Gwent Wildlife Trust. I joined GWT from Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, where for six years I formed part of their senior management team as the Head of Land Management. In that role I was fortunate enough to oversee a 30% expansion in the area of land managed by the Trust, a doubling in the number of  conservation staff and the reintroduction of Pine Martens to the Forest of Dean. 
 
Originally from London, I grew up in North East Essex not far from the coast, enjoying the endless skies and country lanes of villages, seemingly unchanged and lost in time since the 1930s. Growing up opposite an Essex Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve, I was fortunate enough to get out in the great outdoors and see and enjoy wildlife from a young age. As such, I understand and appreciate how nature can really benefit all our lives each and every day.
 
While living and working in neighbouring Gloucestershire since 2013, I followed the work of Gwent Wildlife Trust with keenness and admiration; often wondering how such a small organisation can have such a disproportionately large impact. After much thought I have concluded that the answer is “its people”. At GWT, a community spirit and family feel, long since lost at many other organisations is alive and well amongst staff, volunteers and members. This community spirit, along with a huge amount of hard work by all involved, was to thank for the David over Goliath victory that GWT helped deliver in 2019, with the decision to stop development of the M4 motorway over the Gwent Levels. 
Building on this success, GWT and our supporters are now helping to restore further ancient and ecologically important habitats on the Gwent Levels, thanks to our successful purchase of Bridewell Common and our plans to create a new Nature Reserve, adjacent to our oldest reserve at Magor Marsh. 
For all of the hard work involved in these successes, as well as for all of the other activities that have helped wildlife and inspired people to care more about nature near them, I would like to thank my colleagues; both staff and volunteers, plus our supporters, members and donors. 
 

Looking to the future, humanity faces large-scale challenges, from climate change, biodiversity decline and unsustainable land use. However, Gwent Wildlife Trust, and our partners in the environmental sector, have spent decades quietly, often too quietly on occasions, developing Nature Based Solutions to these problems. These Nature Based Solutions can address the problems of our age, be they; climate change through storing carbon; pollution through filtering air and water; flooding by capturing water; or health and wellbeing by increasing physical activity and social interaction in the great outdoors. Best of all, this can all be achieved whilst helping significantly more wildlife! In the year ahead GWT will be working with partners across the wider environment sector to pool our efforts, focus our gaze and increase our impact, so that soon everyone will understand that “it is not us who saves nature”, but “nature who saves us”.