Owen Charles Johnson MBE has spent the last twenty years studying and recording over 60,000 trees around Britain, and has developed skills in field identification.
He grew up in Hastings near Alexandra Park. [1] He graduated from Durham University in 1988 with a degree in English Literature. [2] He completed a doctorate on the poetry of Ted Hughes. [1]
He is a Registrar at the Tree Register where he has compiled and written Champion Trees of Britain and Ireland (2003), [1] The Sussex Tree Book (1998), [3] and the Collins Tree Guide, with illustrations by David More. [4] As a naturalist, he manages a Local Nature Reserve near his home in St Leonards for the Sussex Wildlife Trust. He has also served as a volunteer leader for The Conservation Volunteers's weekly conservation tasks since 1995.
He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2019 New Year Honours for services to the Environment. In 2020 he was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal by the Royal Horticultural Society. [5]
Worthing is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, 10 miles (16 km) west of Brighton, and 18 miles (29 km) east of Chichester. With an estimated population of about 110,000 and an area of 12.5 square miles (32.4 km2), the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Hove built-up area, which makes it part of the 15th most populous urban area in the United Kingdom. Since 2010, northern parts of the borough, including the Worthing Downland Estate, have formed part of the South Downs National Park. In 2019, the Art Deco Worthing Pier was named the best in Britain.
Lanfranco "Frankie" Dettori, MBE is an Italian horse racing jockey based in the United Kingdom. Dettori has been Champion Jockey on three occasions and has ridden the winners of more than 500 Group races. This includes twenty winners of the English classics. His most celebrated achievement was riding all seven winners on British Champions' Day at Ascot in 1996. He is the son of the Sardinian jockey Gianfranco Dettori, who was a prolific winner in Italy. He has been described by Lester Piggott as the best jockey currently riding.
Stephen Alexander Martin is a former field hockey player from Northern Ireland who represented both Ireland and Great Britain at international level. Between 1980 and 1991 he made 135 senior appearances for Ireland. He also captained the Ireland team. He represented Ireland at the 1983, 1987 and 1991 EuroHockey Nations Championships and at the 1990 Men's Hockey World Cup. Between 1983 and 1992 Martin also made 94 senior appearances for Great Britain. He represented Great Britain at the 1984, 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in 1984 and a gold medal in 1988. In 1994 he was awarded an. In 2001 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Ulster University. In 2011 Martin was inducted into the Irish Hockey Association Hall of Fame. After retiring as a field hockey player, Martin became a sports administrator. Between 1998 and 2005 he served as Deputy Chief Executive of the British Olympic Association and between 2006 and 2018 he served as Chief Executive of the Olympic Council of Ireland. He now runs his own leadership and management consultancy business and is an associate consultant at Lane 4.
The Marine Conservation Society fights for the future of our ocean through people-powered action – with science on its side. Working with communities, businesses and governments, it defends habitats and species. A UK based not-for-profit organisation, it's been running for almost 40 years, working towards cleaner, better-protected, healthier UK seas where nature flourishes and people thrive. The charity also works in UK Overseas Territories.
American Forests is a 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation organization, established in 1875, and dedicated to protecting and restoring healthy forest ecosystems. The current headquarters are in Washington, D.C.
Butterfly Conservation (BC) is a UK-wide nonprofit environmentalist organization and charity dedicated to conserving butterflies, moths, and the environment. The charity uses its research to provide advice on how to conserve and restore butterfly and moth habitats and it runs projects to protect more than 100 threatened species of Lepidoptera. Butterfly Conservation is also involved in conserving hundreds of sites and reserves for butterflies and moths throughout the UK.
Kyle James Coetzer is a Scottish cricketer and current captain in international format. He also captained at Under-15, U-17 and U-19 levels including skippering in the 2004 U-19 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh.
Robert Geoffrey Burrow is an English former professional rugby league footballer, who spent 16 years playing for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League, before retiring in 2017. An England and Great Britain representative, he spent his entire professional career with Leeds. At 5 ft 5 in (165 cm) tall and weighing less than 11 st, Burrow was known for many years as "the smallest player in Super League". Despite this, he was one of the most successful players in the competition's history, having won a total of 8 Super League championships, two Challenge Cups, been named to the Super League Dream Team on three occasions and won the Harry Sunderland Trophy twice.
Robert Champion is an English former jump jockey, who won the 1981 Grand National on Aldaniti. His triumph, while recovering from cancer, was made into the film Champions, with John Hurt portraying Champion. The film is based on Champion's book Champion's Story, which he wrote with close friend, racing journalist and broadcaster Jonathan Powell.
Peter Charles, is an Irish-British equestrian who competes in the sport of show jumping.
Sara Jane Payne, MBE is a British media campaigner known for her campaign for parents' right for a controlled access to the sex offender registry, spurred by the murder of her daughter Sarah in 2000.
The South Downs Planetarium and Science Centre is an educational facility in Chichester, West Sussex, run by a team of volunteers and astronomy enthusiasts and inaugurated in 2002. A registered educational charity, the Planetarium operates throughout the year, is available for private bookings, and can arrange special shows for schools, private groups, clubs and societies in the day, evening or at weekends.
Violet McBride is a former women's field hockey player from Northern Ireland who represented both Ireland and Great Britain at international level. She represented Great Britain at the 1988 Summer Olympics. In 1989 she was awarded the. In 2011 she was inducted into the Irish Hockey Association Hall of Fame. McBride is also a former drum major World champion, winning the title in both 1980 and 1982. McBride has also represented Ireland as a senior ladies golfer.
Sarah Gordy, MBE is a British actress who has Down syndrome. She is best known for her roles as Katie Thorne in The A Word, Orlando Quine in Strike: The Silkworm and Lady Pamela Holland in the BBC TV series of Upstairs Downstairs. She has also acted in episodes of Call the Midwife, Holby City and Doctors. As well as these TV shows, she has acted in short films, radio dramas, commercials and many theatre productions. In 2018 she became the first woman with Down syndrome to be made an MBE and the first person with Down syndrome to receive an honorary degree from a UK university.
City Sikhs is a nonprofit organisation and a registered charity which describes itself as "A voice for progressive Sikhs". It promotes networking, education and volunteering amongst Sikh professionals and provides a platform for engagement with the British Sikh community.
Joseph Leslie “Joe" Henson, MBE was a farmer who founded the Rare Breeds Survival Trust and appeared as a presenter on BBC shows such as Animal Magic.
Richard William Stanton, also known as Rick Stanton, is a British civilian cave diver who specialises in rescues through the Cave Rescue Organisation and the British Cave Rescue Council. He has been called "one of the world's most accomplished cave-divers", "the face of British cave diving," and "the best cave diver in Europe". Stanton has lived in Coventry for many years, and was formerly a firefighter with the West Midlands Fire Service for 25 years prior to his retirement. In 2018 he played a leading role in the Tham Luang cave rescue and was awarded the George Medal in the Civilian Gallantry List.
Jatinder Verma, MBE, is a British theatre director and activist, who in 1977 co-founded the British Asian theatre company Tara Arts, leading it as artistic director.
Saeed Atcha MBE DL, is Chief executive of the youth-led charity Youth Leads UK. Atcha is currently Deputy lieutenant of Greater Manchester and Commissioner of the Social Mobility Commission.