John Preston in Conversation with Mike Chitty

John Preston joined The Conservation Volunteers (then BTCV) whilst still at school, after a degree (geography and statistics) at St Andrews.He came to Leeds as a live-in Long Term Volunteer at Hollybush Conservation Centre.After 18 months in Doncaster with BTCV on Community Programme he came back to Leeds as a Project Officer. For 20 years he was the “Centre Manager” of Hollybush, leading its evolution into the busy inclusive environmental volunteering centre it is today. In 2018 he moved sideways to be Business Development Manager for TCV covering the North (Liverpool to Hull) this role has a strong Leeds focus as 15% of TCV nationally is Leeds. He continues to contribute to environmental and general third sector forums. Outside of work he is a volunteer recorder and speaker for the BTO and holds a private pilot licence.