Mr Nigel Hester

Graduating from Nottingham University with a degree in Agricultural Science, Nigel had 39 years of land management and conservation experience within the National Trust. After seven years as Head Warden at Hatfield Forest, he moved to the 5042ha Holnicote Estate in West Somerset as Countryside Manager in 1987. Nigel was responsible for the declaration of Exmoor’s first National Nature Reserve in 1995, the 1626ha Dunkery and Horner Wood NNR.

Since 2010, Nigel changed role to become Projects and Grants Manager for Somerset Countryside and led on coastal and marine issues, agri-environment schemes and climate change, representing the NT on many regional groups. Nigel was the Project Manager for the £1.2 million Defra Multi-Objective Flood Demonstration Project (the Holnicote Source to Sea Project), one of three national projects set up in 2009 to explore the impact, opportunities and potential benefits of Natural Flood Management. He continued to work on developing this natural resource management project as part of the national Riverlands programme before retiring at the end of 2018. He has been a Trustee since 2017.