Our close charity partner organisation, the Surrey Hills Society, has recently appointed its first ever Chief Executive Officer, Em Adler.

She has joined the Society at an exciting point in the charityโ€™s evolution. The charity has moved in just a handful of years from an almost entirely volunteer run organisation to a team of five. It has expanded from providing its core programme of inspiring and engaging activities, walks and events for members to also delivering an impactful range of projects to restore nature and boost community access, well-being and skills learning across the Surrey Hills.

Exciting projects the Surrey Hills National Landscape has worked with the Society on recently include Farm for Health – a mental well-being scheme based on working farms in the Surrey Hills, which has supported dozens of people with their mental health. Our Growing Together project has run almost 100 events and wider activities to bring together diverse communities with the natural beauty of the Surrey Hills and the benefits of engaging with nature. And a volunteering and ranger service programme is promoting conservation and sustainable access to our countryside and delivering essential route and nature restoration.

Em Adler, CEO of the Surrey Hills Society, said:ย “I’m delighted to have been chosen as the first CEO of the Surrey Hills Society. We have a brilliant team of staff and volunteers who work tirelessly to make the Surrey Hills a better place to live-in, visit and enjoy.

“The Society has a proud heritage of protecting our precious natural landscape and ensuring as many people as possible can enjoy and be inspired by the Surrey Hills.ย From leading amazing walks across the beautiful countryside, to restoring footpath networks, planting and maintaining trees and hedgerows and delivering projects which boost access and wellbeing in nature for hundreds of people each year. I’m excited to be building from such strong roots and to help the charity to branch out even further.”

Em has joined the Surrey Hills family after eight years at the biggest environmental coalition in England, Wildlife and Countryside Link, where she led on communications, campaigning, research and operations. She brings with her a wealth of experience working with national charities including the National Trust, RSPB, The Wildlife Trusts and the Rivers Trusts and sector specialist experts like CHEM Trust, the Soil Association and the Nature Friendly Farming Network working to secure nature-restoring law on the page and practical policies that benefit nature, people and climate.

Highlights include leading delivery on the campaign that secured the worldโ€™s first legal deadline to restore wildlife populations and co-leading the biggest ever assembly for climate and nature in the UK – the Restore Nature Now March – which saw up to 100,000 people take to the streets of London to call for measures to restore nature and climate.