President (2016-2018), Landscape Institute UK;
Founding Trustee, Learning Through Landscapes, United Kingdom
Merrick Denton-Thompson is the Immediate Past President and Fellow of the Landscape Institute. He has worked in the public and voluntary sector on strategic planning, urban regeneration and rural land management for most of his career. He was appointed to the Board of Natural England by the Secretary of State to assist in the development of the new government agency in 2006 — 2009. He directed the Rural Pathfinder for the South East of England, was a member of the Cross-Compliance Board for the Single Farm Payment and a member of the Agri-Environment Review Group which set up the Environmental and Countryside Stewardship Schemes.
He is the founding Trustee of the Learning Through Landscapes Trust. As a Landscape Architect Merrick developed a unique vision for the potential of school grounds to give children a positive experience of the natural world and benefit from experiential learning. He was awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contribution to education in 2002.