- Home
- Teachers & Leaders
- Farmers & Growers
- Our Mission
- About Us
- Support Us
- Plant Your Pants
- Policy
- Latest News
- Get In Touch
- Make a donation
We are governed by a Board of Trustees including our Co-Chairpersons, Anne Bufton-McCoy and Andrew Stafford.
After university Andrew spent over 32 years working in the Diplomatic Service, serving in Europe (East and West) and Africa in a variety of political, consular and media relations roles. This was followed by a spell as an independent consultant.
In 2010 his career took a different path when he was appointed CEO of the Dulverton Trust, a grant-making charity which donates a total of around £3million a year to a variety of charities, including the Country Trust, many of which focus on helping young people from less advantaged backgrounds to flourish and achieve their ambitions. Following Andrew's retirement from Dulverton it was an easy decision for him to accept an invitation in 2018 to join the Board of the Country Trust given the close alignment of aims. He is also a trustee of Future Trees Trust. Andrew is married with three grown-up children.
Anne joined the Board in April 2015 and has a long-standing association with the Country Trust- a former Headteacher who led a number of schools in challenging circumstances across Birmingham and Leicestershire. Her refusal to allow generational unemployment to dull pupil aspiration led her to work with the Trust enabling hundreds of pupils to gain new, exciting experiences in the countryside and to meet a range of people for whom working with living and growing things is a way of life.
Her mantra is “How can we expect children to write with imagination and flair if we don’t offer them a broad range of ideas and experiences on which to base their ideas?”
After over twenty years of headship Anne now advises Headteachers on leadership and management and is a passionate advocate for the work we do.
Keranjit Kaur qualified as a teacher in 2002. She was a full-time KS2 teacher for 20 years in Leicester, in a school where many of the children were learning English as an Additional Language. In 2005 she became a mathematics subject leader and was very pleased as she loves maths. In 2010, she became a year group leader. As part of this role, she organised many visits to enhance learning opportunities creating links with organisations offering outdoor learning experiences such as the Canal and River Trust, the Ernest Cook Trust as well as the Country Trust. More recently, Keranjit completed the NPQSL and NPQH to develop her leadership skills further.
Her extended family in India have farms that are mainly arable and her late father was a farmer until he came to England in the 1960s as a teenager. As a young child, Keranjit enjoyed helping her father plant vegetables and during the first lockdown, she began growing vegetables, strawberries and herbs.
Keranjit is studying towards a Masters in Psychology and is working part-time as a supply teacher to gain experience in different schools. In her spare time, Keranjit enjoys reading, running, walking, baking and gardening.
A former Science and Sport teacher in Lincolnshire and former Country Trust Co-ordinator, Michael returned to Northamptonshire to run his family farm alongside his father in 2018. Michael lives next door to the farm on the outskirts of Oundle with his wife and two children and it didn’t take long for him to integrate education into the farm as he converted a farm barn to a large children’s day nursery. The nursery runs alongside the mixed farm of arable, sheep and cattle which is under a Higher Tier Countryside Stewardship scheme, following the family’s passion for conservation. Michael still hosts Country Trust visits regularly and hopes to bring more and more children onto the farm each year.
Tango was brought up partly in London and also on a hill farm in Co Wicklow, Ireland. At Wye College she studied rural environment studies and then spent several years in Tanzania working with the local agricultural extension workers, as a volunteer for Concern, an Irish NGO. FWAG in Suffolk, was her next appointment whereby after about four years she became Northern Regional Manager for The Farming & Wildlife Advisory Group (FWAG), covering counties from Northumberland to Hereford.
Tango has an arable farm in Yorkshire which she manages on a day to day basis, using contractors.
Following their first Stewardship Scheme in 1997, she has been carrying out school farm visits ever since and was lucky enough to secure a grant towards a school building which was completed in 2011. Tango is also on the Yorkshire Agricultural Society - Grants and Education Committee, and Chairman of the Parish Council. Tango is married with three children.
Manchester born and bred, Guy lives in Bristol after a long predominantly City-based career in banking and financial services; including Lloyds TSB, London Stock Exchange and Nationwide, before retiring from paid work in 2020. These days he mentors final year and post-grad students, local SME businesses, as well as some private individuals. Away from “work” his interests include football, cricket and golf as well as music and travelling. Guy joined The Country Trust in October 2024 and also holds the role of Trustee Treasurer at The Merchants House (Marlborough), and likes to put the “Fun in Finance”
Rachael runs an Alternative Education Provision supporting children and young people from ages 5-19, using horses, small animals and the outside world working therapeutically to re-engage them back into learning and education. Working with mainstream schools, local authorities charities and directly with parents and families, Rachael has become a keen advocate for supporting those who are underrepresented in sourcing appropriate and impactful learning for children with SEN and SEMH needs.
In addition to running an AP for 18 years, Rachael is also a Trustee for a Multi Academy Trust in her home county of Bedfordshire, offering an insight into the challenges being faced directly in schools and by local authorities in the present climate.
Being born and bred in Bedfordshire as a farmer's daughter, she runs a small arable farm on the Beds Bucks border and is passionate about the benefits of being outside and what those experiences can offer people of all ages. As a small farmer, helping to educate children and families about the challenges that those who live and work in the countryside face and the importance for all of us to understand the origins of our food and how it can impact our physical and mental health throughout life. Rachael believes that educating wider communities about food and food production is incredibly important in securing healthy and sustainable futures for us all.
In her spare time Rachael enjoys visiting the North Norfolk Coast and the West Country, walking and exploring with her husband and 3 dogs. Rachael is also a keen horse rider and enjoys cooking for friends and family.
Craig lives in Hertfordshire and works in London. He has spent 25 years in the financial services industry in operational and product development roles. In addition to his full-time role Craig mentors start-up technology company founders, helping them form their business strategy and to shape their product offerings. Outside of work Craig enjoys spending time travelling with his family, mountain biking and trail running in the Chiltern hills and is a keen supporter of Saracens rugby club. Craig joined the Country Trust as a Trustee in 2024 to support a cause he feels strongly about, believing everyone should have the opportunity to experience the countryside and understand the land that supports us all.
