Tony Hare obituary

My friend Tony Hare, who has died aged 55 after a long illness, was a botanist, author, film-maker and conservationist. He co-founded the charity Plantlife and became its first chair, remaining an active vice-president until 2007. It is a tribute to Tony's energy and vision that Plantlife now manages 4,500 acres of rare and important plant habitat. His passion for the natural world extended far beyond his exhaustive knowledge and love of plants. His work with the World Wildlife Fund (now the World Wide Fund for Nature) and Water Aid, as both an educationist and campaign strategist, has been instrumental in engaging a global audience in the debate on climate change. His strength as a communicator was his ability to empower and engage with audiences on all levels. Tony was born in West Runton, Norfolk, and was educated at Cromer junior school and Paston school (now Paston college) before taking a BSc at Southampton University. He attended Queen Mary College, University of London, for his doctorate on the small fleabane and least lettuce (two obscure plants of ephemeral habitats easily destroyed by farmers' chemicals). He went on to work for the London Ecology Unit survey team, during which time he discovered a pocket of land which retained a medieval richness of flora. Located in Yeading Brook Meadows, Hillingdon, west London, it became known as Hare's Hollows. Tony appeared on the children's environmental TV programme A Beetle Called Derek in the late 1980s and presented London Wildlife Challenge with Chris Packham. He also made regular appearances on Going Live. Children are still influenced today by his series of books called Save Our Earth. Tony travelled widely but returned frequently to check on the flora around Happy Valley, below the light-house on his beloved Cromer cliffs. He is survived by his partner, Amanda; their sons, Adam and Billy; his parents, Jim and Brenda; and his siblings, Chris, Fiona, Caroline and Diana.