About Us
Who We Are
Wild About The Erme River (WATER) is a positive action, environmental charity focused on restoring the Erme’s water quality and habitat from its source on Dartmoor to its estuary and beaches at Coastguards and Wonwell.
WATER is proud of the calibre of its all-volunteer team, whose complimentary qualifications and experience include specialist environmental sciences. landscape architecture, farm and land management, education, marketing and communication.
We are very much a fact-based, science led, data driven organisation.
Our work is for the benefit of both wildlife and people who interact with the river in many different ways.
Our Team
Our steering group has been formed to identify and link together work already happening in the catchment, to engage with community and institutional stakeholders, and to establish effective pathways to change.
Charlotte Grezo
Chair
Charlotte is a biologist with a PhD in Environmental biology. She has worked in senior sustainability roles in multinational companies throughout her career and has been a Trustee of a number of conservation and natural history charities.
She is currently a Trustee of Botanic Gardens International, the Devon Wildlife Trust (DWT), and a WWF UK fellow.
Charlotte has been passionate about the environment, biodiversity and climate change for most of her life. She lives in the River Erme Catchment and as Chair of WATER and Trustee of DWT is involved in efforts to improve and enhance environmental quality, biodiversity and wildlife locally.
Tim Poate
Vice Chair
Tim is a Coastal Research Consultant working at the University of Plymouth working on coastal adaptation and storm impacts in the UK and overseas. He lives in Ivybridge with a young family and in 2018, started the Plastic Free Ivybridge campaign with support from PL:21. Tim has continued to be involved with PL:21 and is currently a Trustee supporting a range of projects including Active Travel and River Cleans.
Tim is happiest in/under/around water windsurfing/surfing/swimming- thankfully all of these are possible right on our doorstep in Devon and he is keen to help however he can to ensure they remain for generations to come.
John Mildmay-White
Vice chair,
Lead land co-ordinator
John and his family manage the Flete Estate on the Erme Estuary and see protecting this special environment as a priority of their stewardship.
They spend as much time in the water as possible, swimming, surfing and paddleboarding and have unfortunately suffered the effects of the failing water quality.
John trained and worked as an Engineer before returning to the Estate and is passionate about using sound science and data to restore the health of the Erme River.
Charlotte Rathbone
Land Project co-ordinator
Charlotte has lived and worked from Modbury for nearly 30 years. She is a chartered landscape architect and a director Rathbone Partnership Landscape Consultants. Charlotte started her career as a geographer and in her landscape architecture role she is a strong proponet for the serious and considered management of soils and landscapes to ensure we retain biodiversity for future generations.
Charlotte is a board member of the Sharpham Trust near Totnes, Co-Chair of the Modbury Wildlife Action Group. She loves to walk, spend time on the water and improve her growing, cultural and wildlife skills.
Colin Whybrow
Marketing and Communications Lead
Colin is an experienced marketing and communications professional. He has worked, at director level, in both client and agency capacities on over a hundred brands in more than sixty markets.
He launched, and was international spokesman for, an environmental charity in the shipping industry that reinvented rotor sail technology to provide supplementary wind power for today’s commercial ships, saving both fuel and emissions.
He has walked the Erme for over 25 years having lived close by the river and has been privileged to observe it in every state and every season, as well as observing species such as Kingfishers and otters.
Pat Hannam
Education Lead
Pat is passionate about teaching and finding ways for all of us as teachers to think together about the educational changes needed at this point in history. She is currently writing about ‘regenerative education’ and has taught across all age ranges. Before moving back to Devon in 2022, Pat was an education adviser/inspector for Hampshire County Council. She is an honorary research fellow at the University of Exeter and has a PhD in education.
Pat lives in Ermington and is making a modest forest/permaculture garden where she and her husband moved to 3 years ago.
Pat is happiest in or near to the water. She is an all-year-round sea swimmer and loves kayaking and coast path walking.
Rebecca Kikkides
Catchment Action Plan Co-lead
Rebecca’s professional background is in aviation operations and management, where she developed strong strategic planning capabilities. She holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and a MSc in Environmental Management focused on systems thinking. She approaches conservation challenges through a holistic lens, understanding how interconnected factors influence environmental outcomes.
Growing up in the Mediterranean, she developed a love for being by the water and diverse coastal ecosystems. She enjoys coastal walks with her family and cocker spaniel and supporting wildlife initiatives.
Rebecca has always been passionate about the natural world and is committed to conservation, believing that protecting our environment and its wildlife requires both scientific understanding and practical action.
Collaboration is Key
WATER’s fundamental concept of collaboration operates at different levels
Strategically
Strategically, we work in close co-operation with the major national and regional environmental organisations such as the Environment Agency, South Devon National Landscape, Devon Wildlife Trust, Westcountry Rivers Trust, Rivers Restoration Centre, Dartmoor National Park, Catchment Sensitive Farming, Farming in Protected Landscapes and many more
Locally
Locally, we recognise that we are not alone in caring about the river, which is why we collaborate with, and support the work of, many local environmental groups, each of whom are caring for their stretch of the river in towns and villages across the catchment in Ivybridge, Ermington, Holbeton, Modbury, Ugborough and elsewhere.
Environmentally
Environmentally, it is perhaps not surprising that within an area of such astounding natural beauty as the Erme catchment, there are many environmentalists with a great love and knowledge of its flora and fauna. We welcome their engagement with WATER and the Erme and are always grateful for their shared knowledge and skills.
We would like to acknowledge the support given by local wildlife photographer Steve Herring whose stunning images can be seen in our gallery and Simon Rundle, former university lecturer in marine biology who has shared his extensive knowledge with the team during Riverfly training sessions.
How you can help
There are many ways you can help us protect and restore water quality and habitat in the beautiful river Erme. To find out how, just click SUPPORT US