We are very pleased to share the great news that Dr Clare Brown has joined our Board of Trustees.

Clare volunteered with us at the end of 2025, spending two months in support of Lily’s Leaves and, for the most part, the Mithila Wildlife Trust. During her time in south Nepal, Clare applied her professional skills (she has a PhD in Botany) to review progress with our rapid-growth Miyawaki plantations. She says:

‘I am very excited to joint the Pipal Tree team as a Trustee, and am delighted that my ecological expertise can be utilised here. It was wonderful to spend several weeks in Madhesh in 2025, recording development of forest composition and structure in the Miyawaki forests. I look forward to returning to Madhesh later this year. We will continue to monitor forest development and this will inform future forest planting and the long term management of the existing forests for the mutual benefit of local communities and nature conservation.’

Our Trustee appointments are for three years, usually extendable by a further three years. A pre-requisite for joining the Board is the ability to contribute a significant amount of time to the charity’s activities in UK or Nepal rather than involvement being confined to attending quarterly Board meetings. Clare has certainly met that criterion!

Clare with Water Hyacinth specimens – an invasive species that we have been turning into compost.