David Shreeve was born in Devon and created the Elms Across Europe campaign in 1979, and thanks to its success, co-founded The Conservation Foundation in 1982 with David Bellamy. Shreeve was an environmental adviser to the Church of England, following the Yews for the Millennium project, and was awarded a Lambeth degree in 2003. Shreeve was also awarded an MBE for services to the environment in the first King’s Birthday Honours in 2023.