Meet the Team
Team photograph: Gary Lawson Media
Simon Warwick
LUCT Director
Emma Higgs
Emma is our Project Manager and oversees habitat management work, wildlife monitoring, and the day-to-day running of the reserve. She also manages our incredible and very hardworking team of practical volunteers. She has delivered two funded projects for LUCT: The Green Recovery Challenge Fund project ‘ Restoring the Swale & Ure Washlands’ in 2021, and the ‘Ure Connected’ project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, which ran from 2023 to 2025.
Her favourite species that can be found at Nosterfield is the osprey. “I love the ospreys that visit us each summer and the joy of watching them catch fish in our lakes never fades. Their population crashed in the UK in the mid-20th century, but they’ve made a steady recovery, and so they always remind me of how successful conservation efforts can be! We installed an osprey nest platform in my first few weeks at LUCT, and although some ospreys have shown an interest, none of them have nested on it yet, so I can’t wait for the day they do!”
Jo Swiers
Jo is LUCT’s Director of Operations & Strategy and has been part of the team since 2018. She plays a key role in helping the Trust grow and thrive, leading on everything from organisational development and governance to the day-to-day operations that keep things running smoothly behind the scenes.
Working closely with colleagues, Trustees and partners, Jo enjoys bringing people together to turn ideas into action and helping create the strong foundations that support LUCT’s conservation work. Her role covers business planning, finance, HR, compliance and strategic partnerships, as well as supporting fundraising and the long-term sustainability of the Trust.
Outside of work, Jo loves spending time at the Nature Reserve, especially on peaceful evenings when she can fully appreciate the wildlife and landscape setting that make the Trust’s work so meaningful.
Amy Horton
Amy joined LUCT as Community Engagement Officer in 2023, as part of the Ure Connected National Lottery Heritage Fund project. With the help of colleagues and a fantastic team of engagement and events volunteers, Amy co-ordinates a wide range of events at the reserve, including group visits, art workshops, conservation club, reserve tours and pond dipping sessions. Amy also oversees LUCT’s social media accounts and quarterly newsletters.
‘One of my favourite aspects of my role with LUCT is seeing the connection people of all ages make with nature. Whether it’s hearing a booming Bittern for the first time, discovering a Bloody-nosed beetle trundling across the path at the Main Reserve, recognising the trill of a wren or watching a Caddisfly emerge from its case of twigs and bark, it’s such a privilege to witness those moments of joy and discovery’.
Sophie Carruthers
Sophie joined LUCT as our Trainee Plant Nursery Manager in Summer 2025. Our on-site nursery grows local-provenance native species, specialising in wetland and calcareous grassland plants, for conservation and restoration projects. Sophie is learning from our two amazing Volunteer Nursery Managers how to run the nursery and all about the needs of (and how to identify!) these incredible plants. Along with the wonderful nursery volunteers, she spends a lot of her time happily propagating and caring for the plants in the nursery before they are planted out.
Her favourite species is Bogbean (Menyanthes trifoliata). “I’ve been learning so much about our native wetland species, many of which are as attractive as cultivated plants we see in our gardens. Bogbean is a lovely example, with beautiful star-shaped flowers which are white with a pink blush. The fringes on the petals give it an almost fuzzy look from a distance and the trifoliate leaves always make think of giant fleshy clover. Also, how can you not love a plant with a name like Bogbean!?”