CPRE Cornwall, the charity that campaigns to protect the Cornish countryside and coast, has announced that the conservationist and author Merlin Hanbury-Tenison has become its new patron.

Merlin lives in a temperate rainforest on Bodmin Moor with his wife Lizzie, an entrepreneur and business leader, and their two young daughters.

CPRE Cornwall is a branch of The Countryside Charity (formerly the Campaign to Protect Rural England) combining national influence with local knowledge to support and protect rural Cornwall. A committee of volunteers is headed by chair Rowena Swallow and vice-chair Stephen Horscroft, supported by a part-time administrator. The charity relies on donations and a portion of the membership fees are paid to the national office.

Chair of CPRE Cornwall, Rowena, said: “CPRE Cornwall has always punched above its weight for a small charity. However, to continue supporting and protecting all aspects of rural life as we would wish, we need more publicity, funds, and members. We are very much looking forward to having Merlin’s highly respected and authoritative voice to help us get our message across.’

Merlin added: “It is a huge honour for me to become the Patron of this brilliant charity. I hope that I can be a suitable standard-bearer as we press for eco-friendly development, sustainable agriculture, better infrastructure for local needs and genuinely affordable homes.

“As a proud Cornishman who has grown up seeing many of the challenges that Cornwall faces, I am passionate about the need for sensible, sustainable and restrained development where it is needed for local people. I hope to advocate for CPRE Cornwall on the vital importance of action to mitigate climate change and the importance of engaging with nature to promote mental health and well-being.”

Merlin is a Cornish conservationist and veteran who founded and runs The Thousand Year Trust, Britain’s rainforest charity. The charity’s mission is to catalyse the movement to triple Britain’s rainforest cover to one million acres in the next thirty years. His work has featured in National Geographic, the Guardian and on the BBC.

For more information about the work of CPRE visit the website www.cprecornwall.org