Meet the Trustees: Andrew Clinton

Meet Trustee Andrew Clinton, who currently has the role of Board Secretary 

Tell us a bit about yourself

I was born and brought up in Croydon, which gave me an enduring love for brutalist architecture and Crystal Palace football club (both of which might be bewildering to some people!). We lived near a big park growing up where we spent many happy days as kids with our cousins.

When I was training to become a solicitor, I used to pay regular visits to a friend who was studying at Sussex University, and it wasn’t long before I decided that Brighton was where I wanted to live. I moved into a flat in Central Brighton to start with, then up to Hanover and eventually settled in the Fiveways area.

We are very lucky as we walk down to the seafront or walk up the hill through Hollingbury Woods and down into Stanmer Park.

I started photographing birds during lockdown. I still lug the heavy zoom lens around on walks in the hope of spotting a new species to me. Last year, I branched out in orchid hunting and trying to identify wildflowers. I only recently found out that the Rampion windfarm was named after a Sussex wildflower.

My other main interest is going to watch live music. There are lots of venues in and around Brighton and plenty of opportunities to see emerging bands. The Great Escape music festival in May is a particular highlight of my calendar.

Why did you become a Trustee of Sussex Wildlife Trust?

I had completed a nine-year stint as a trustee at Mind in Brighton and Hove. I wanted to apply my legal skills in support a charitable cause that I believed was important. Fortunately for me, it was just at the time that the Trust was looking to recruit a Trustee with a legal background.

What do you enjoy about it?

I enjoy being part of a highly committed group of people who are determined to make a difference for nature.

The one aspect I hadn’t fully appreciated until I started supporting the Trust, initially as a member and then as a Trustee, was the importance of the marine environment. If you go for regular walks on the South Downs, you can’t help but notice the plants and wildlife changing with the seasons but (at least until I get a decent underwater camera) the same was not true for me in relation to the sea. The surface of the sea is ever-changing and can be mesmerising, but I didn’t really give much thought to what went on below the surface. However, the work that Sussex Wildlife Trust does in terms of marine conservation has demonstrated to me just because something is out of sight doesn’t mean it should be out of mind.

We were heartened by the support we received for the recent Judicial Review challenge to the dumping of waste from Brighton marina into a marine protected area. It felt like an important moment for the Trust.

Please give an example of a wildlife highlight for you from the last year or so?

I was standing on the beach at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve, watching the terns fly out over my head to sea and then fly back with fish. It seemed to be an endless and magical procession and, by the end of it, my neck felt like I had been watching a tennis match!