Naturama - Trevor's Resume

A Résumé of some of Trevor Beer's activities in nature conservation.(Endymion's friend,colleague & Mentor.)

Member of the British Empire. (MBE) Awarded Jan 2002 in Queen’s New Years Honours List. (Journalism & Environment.)

Rural Parish Councillor for 25 years. Also Tree and Way Warden.
(Chairman of Parish Council for 9 years.)

Served on North Devon District Council for one term. (Did not seek re-election).

Ran own Field Club for 40 youngsters for 10 years, winning the Better Britain Competition in 1974 and the European Architectural Heritage Award in 1975. Produced North Devon’s first Nature Trails for schools and public use, and Barnstaple Urban Trail in the 1970s.

Former Council member of the Devon Bird Watching & Preservation Society. (1980s)

Member of the Army Ornithological Society and currently the Army Ornithological Representative for Devon and Somerset.

Owns two private nature Sanctuaries (14 acres) managed solely for wildlife, which includes the marsh fritillary butterfly, red deer, otters, badgers and uncommon marsh flora etc. He won the John Mejor Award for conservation in 1988 for achievements on this site. Also a 4 acre wetland meadow site with lake and uncommon flora and fauna species. (Twice winner of the John Mejor Award)

Has taken in and healed over 4000 sick and injured wild birds and animals since 1960s, from the public, police and local vets. Set up the North Devon Oiled Bird Rescue Group following the Christos Bitos oil spillage incident.

Currently writes on Natural History as a wildlife writer for the Western Morning News, The Cornishman, Cornish Times, West Briton, North Devon Journal, Exmoor Magazine & Dartmoor News.

Through his daily and weekly series in the Western Morning News, he reaches thousands of people every day and is really spreading public awareness in a very big way! The Western Morning News’s Wildlife Millennium Project was his own initiative and is a huge success. Readers from all walks of life have responded dedicating their gardens, hedgerows etc. to wildlife. The initial target was to reach 1000 acres but we are now well over 6500 acres! The project continues and Trevor will meet readers on request to give them free advice on how to make their havens better for wildlife.

In 1980 he helped young offenders via the Probation Office understand wildlife with a project which had them involved in making nest boxes and bat boxes. 15 young people were involved. Now via the Wildlife Millennium Project with the Western Morning News the Probation Office at Exeter became involved once again. R.G.B, Umberleigh, providing the timber for bird and bat boxes. This will mean free bird and bat boxes to readers if required as part of the Haven scheme.

Has written 14 tourist guides on Birds, Wildflowers and other aspects on Natural History as well as Castles, Beaches, Footpath Walks etc. both regionally and nationally.

Also wrote:

'The Beast of Exmoor,Fact or Legend (1981) Published by Countryside Productions, Devon.

'Poacher's Days' (1981) Published by Countryside Productions, Devon.

'Devon's Wild Mammals' (1982) Published by Badger Books, Devon.

'Tarka Country' (1993) Published by Badger Books, Devon.

'Tarka Country Revisited' (2004) Published by North Devon Books.

'Devon's Mysterious Walks' (1997) Published by Sigma Leisure, Cheshire.

'Nature Watch' (1998) Published by Halsgrove.

'Trevor Beer's North Devon Wildlife' (2001) Published by Halsgrove.

'Old Red', The Story of a Devon Fox' (2002) Published by Halsgrove.

'Trevor Beer's Country Lore' Published 2006 by Halsgrove.

'Five Owl's (2007) published by Halsgrove.

'Merlin' the story of a westcountry leopard (2008) Published by Halsgrove.

Contact: Halsgrove for further information www.halsgrove.com or telephone 01823 653777.

Donated 2 black & white line drawings to the ‘Help The Elephant Charity’ auction in Nairobi, Kenya which fetched in the region of £800-£900 for the charity.

Donated art work to The Devon Wildlife Trust to help raise funds and to various schools and charities.

Leads guided walks based on nature conservation and lectures on wildlife to raise money for local charities such as Leukaemia Research.

‘Roving Nature Trails’ for schools, a project whereby laminated information nature boards were produced, written and illustrated by Trevor Beer and given to the North Devon Area Education authority to use whenever they wished.

Church Nature Trails… a project with nature boards with texts and illustrations instigated by Trevor Beer specifically for individual churches to put up on their notice boards and that explains the wildlife of the respective graveyards. Churches include Barnstaple Parish Church, Fremington, Instow, Eggesford and Arlington. When complete, i.e. when about 20-30 churches have boards we will produce a Nature Trail leaflet describing them all as ‘churches to visit for nature’ in North Devon.

Instigated the Westcountry Library Wildlife Information Boards with Endymion Beer whereby bi-monthly sheets are provided free to all the libraries in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset.

A new 1999 and ongoing project saving wildflowers from development. A scheme whereby if anyone knows of development in progress where wildflowers are being uprooted we will arrange to collect them and replant them elsewhere in the countryside. Supported by the Western Morning News. April 1999.

The Education Category Winner in the Devon Environmental Business Initiative Awards (DEBI) in 2000 in conjunction with the Western Morning News.

Won the David Bellamy Award for Conservation given by the British Naturalist's Association in May 2001. Made an Honorary Member of the BNA (2002) for work in nature conservation.

Was elected Wildlife Champion for North Devon Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (2005).