Prof. Barry Thomas
Trustee
I'm Barry, a lifelong academic with a love of learning! My main reason for joining the board of trustees back in 2018 was to help to develop the Fossil Forrest as a world class visitor attraction and site for academic investigation. I've been involved in developing the vision for this aspect of the Trust's work for more than 17 years, and I'm passionate about seeing its development as part of the whole site.
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Outside of the Trust, my main areas of research have been Carboniferous palaeobotany especially the taxonomy, geographic and stratigraphic distribution and ecology of the lycophytes and calamites. I lecture at Aberystwyth University and am a research fellow at the National Museum of Wales. I'm also involved with the Wildlife Trust and the British Institute for Geological Conservation.
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Cllr Nigel Williams
WCBC nominated Trustee
Wrexham County Borough Council's appointed Trustee.
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Nigel is the Councillor for our nearby ward of Gwenfro, and he's also the Council's Lead Member for the Economy.
Andrew Foster
BDL nominated Trustee
My whole working life has been in opencast coal mining, bulk earth moving, mineral extraction and land reclamation. I have been involved with the former Brymbo Steel Works site for over 32 years working for The Parkhill Group of companies and Brymbo Developments (BDL).
I have been responsible for the design, planning and finding solutions to the technical and contamination issues, including negotiating the grant funding from start to finish.
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During the reclamation works we unearthed the Fossil Forest, I was instrumental in identifying its significance, preserving and then obtaining SSSI listing for the area.
In 2000 I was appointed Operations Director for BDL - the Landowner - and have recently been appointed as their representative trustee for Brymbo Heritage Trust.
Meet The Team
Nick Aymes
Chair
Nick Aymes is the Chair of our board of trustees.
Bernard Winstanley
Trustee
Bernard helps lead the finances for the project.
Keith Willaims
Trustee
With a passion for the site, Keith is one of our longstanding trustees and volunteers.
Emma Forest
Trustee
Emma holds a Post Graduate Teaching Assistant position at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), within the Strategy, Enterprise, and Sustainability Department. She is also a PhD student where her research explores how culture and place has affected the development of social enterprise networks in North Wales.
Emma has extensive business experience gained within the public and charity sectors. She has successfully led a number of high-profile strategic change projects in the public sector including the delivery of a refreshed public engagement strategy and the implementation of a rebranding campaign.
Mark Peacock
Brymbo Community Council Nominated Trustee and Vice-Chair
I retired from a lifetime working for an energy company a couple of years ago and moved to Bwlchgwyn to enjoy the countryside with my wife Karen, and our two dogs.
My plans were to walk the dogs, and cycle and motorcycle around the countryside.
I volunteered to help out the village Residents Association and from there it snowballed into local Community Councillor in the Brymbo ward. Through this I have become passionate about the Heritage Trust and the dedication that people have for the project. I hope to continue to contribute to the project and see everyone in the area enjoy the wonder of it all.
Paul Bowen
Trustee
Paul runs his own maintenance company and is also a lead volunteer. His extensive experience in building and maintenance makes him a great addition to the Trustees.
