Making a local impact in Leicestershire

Rahoul Naik, a trustee of CPRE Leicestershire, is dedicated to increasing access to the countryside for everyone’s benefit. He tells us about the positive impact he’s been able to make in his community and his ongoing efforts to promote diversity and inclusion both locally and nationally.

Finding an opportunity to make a difference

Having built a successful career in marketing and communications, in July 2022 Rahoul was seeking an opportunity to give back to his local community outside of work. ‘I’ve been involved in the community development and charity space for a while, but I had never been a trustee, and I knew it was the right next step,’ he tells us. However, he was specifically looking for a trustee role with a smaller charity, where he could see the difference that he was making. ‘I wanted to find an organisation that was aligned with my views of course, but was also at the size and had the scope that could allow me to have some local impact.’

He spotted on LinkedIn that CPRE Leicestershire were seeking a new trustee with digital media and marketing skills. It seemed like the perfect opportunity. ‘I think it’s great as a trustee to be around the table and strategise, but I also like getting my hands dirty a little bit, so I knew that this role would give me that. It seemed like a really good fit in terms of the skills that the board needed. I had more confidence that I was going to be able to go into this role and give something useful.’

When Rahoul joined the board, he soon found that each trustee had their own priorities and experiences to bring to the table. ‘Together we were able to cover all the key priorities, without everybody needing to be focused on everything. I came into a board that had some real expert planners, who were really good at fighting planning applications, which I learnt so much from.’ He also valued the chance to ‘know what it was like to work as local group trustee, but also work with a national office team.’

Championing the countryside in different spaces

Rahoul is proud to champion the work of CPRE Leicestershire and says that ‘one of the more enjoyable parts of the role is being able to go out and talk to people as a representative of the charity – to be a champion for that in different spaces.’ Hear Rahoul explain why he enjoys this aspect of being a trustee so much…

One of the early projects he got involved in was Hedgerow Heroes (Phase Two), which aimed to create direct, visible changes in the local community. In the past, the group had done a lot of work behind the scenes countering planning applications and working with local councils. However, Rahoul explains that ‘those are things that people don’t see- and if they don’t see it, they don’t know it, and it’s difficult to get people engaged.’

‘So, one of the things I really wanted to make sure we were able to do was to be out in the community doing some physical activity, getting volunteers in, meeting and speaking with them.’

‘Hedgerow Heroes gave us the opportunity to do that, and to work with landowners and farmers to build up our relationship with them as well. Doing that project and seeing those volunteers was a really good foundation to build on and now we’re looking at what else we can do in that vein.’

Recently, the board have been working on finalising an overarching Vision for CPRE Leicestershire. ‘It’s one thing that already feels like an achievement,’ Rahoul tells us. ‘It’s going to give us a real foundation to build on from an activity perspective. We’ll have a lot of confidence with that vision to be able to go into partnerships, into meetings and say this is what we want, this is what we want to get to and how they can help us get there.’

A passion for increasing access to nature

Despite growing up in an urban area, Rahoul developed a sense of familiarity and an appreciation for nature at a young age. ‘I’d always be going out to play cricket or rugby in very nice places in the countryside,’ he recalls, alongside alongside walks in ancient woodland =. Rahoul would often visit his family in India on holidays as a child too: ‘All we live in and around is greenery. We have a farmhouse and we’re a farming family’. Witnessing how people in different places relate to nature and the countryside has impacted his perception of other cultures: ‘The way they appreciate and respect nature and everything around it is, for me, really interesting.’

‘I think we need to learn something from these other cultures, because we have nothing without nature – that’s why it’s important to me.’

Rahoul believes that improving access to the countryside can help foster close connections with nature and a deeper appreciation of its value. ‘As someone who lives in a city, I know access to the countryside is a big problem. I’m lucky enough to live on the boundary, with the countryside being five minutes one way and the town being five minutes the other way.’ He understands that this isn’t the case for everyone: ‘Being able to benefit from accessing the countryside is something I wanted to help increase for other people. One of the key things I spoke to the board about was equality surrounding access to the countryside alongside where the countryside fits into the climate crisis and how we can help to fix that.’

Every voice matters

Beyond his trustee role, Rahoul is actively engaged in the CPRE Network Allyship Group which brings together staff and volunteers who wish to champion diversity and inclusivity at a national strategic level. ‘Those conversations have been really great, not just around increasing the diversity of the trustees we have, but also the membership we have.’

‘We’ve got to be visible; we have to get out there to showcase that CPRE is an organisation that is incredibly friendly, that is very welcoming, that has this as a focus. If we don’t show it, if we don’t hear from people like me, then nobody’s ever going to believe it.’

When he joined the board, Rahoul was pleased to find that he was the second person of colour to become a trustee at CPRE Leicestershire. He’s passionate about the importance and value of having diversity on the board. ‘If you’re all the same, then you’re always going to get the same answer, but that’s not always the right answer. In my view, anybody can be a trustee – it’s a case of finding the right fit between your time commitments, your skill set, your interests and the right organisation for you.’

Rahoul was proud to be the first person under 30 to join the board too: ‘My belief is that every young person has a voice no matter how old they are. I think it’s the same thing with young people being trustees – you always have something to give.’

He feels empowered to help other young people to explore trusteeship, and CPRE Leicestershire are trying to encourage more younger volunteers to get involved in their work. ‘That’s the start of the journey towards wanting to be a trustee.’ He feels that there’s a responsibility for the existing trustee board, as well as the national organisation, to ‘create an environment for people to be comfortable when they become trustees, so that they can have the most impact and be the best that they can be. It’s all about giving that support.’

Thinking about trusteeship?

Before taking on his role, Rahoul took the time to find out about the groups focus and priorities: ‘That really shapes how much impact you can have, how much time commitment you might need and what’s really involved.’

‘I’d recommend having those informal conversations with the Chair or another member of the board to understand this – ask all those things that people might consider silly questions, because actually I don’t think they are.’ This helped him make a decision and be confident that becoming a trustee was something we wanted to do.

Rahoul is now involved in three charity trusteeships, where the fit and type of work he does is very different. ‘I’ve been encouraging absolutely everyone to go and do it. I think it’s a great experience and an easy thing for people to get into. Without good trustees, the whole sector falls apart.’

Find out more

In Rahoul’s words, ‘It’s been a real mix of things that I’ve been involved in, but that’s the beauty of it, I think. I’d absolutely recommend trusteeship to others.’

If you think you’d like to volunteer for CPRE like Rahoul and stand with the countryside, take a look at our volunteering pages and current opportunities, or get in touch with us at volunteeringteam@cpre.org.uk. You can find out more about CPRE Leicestershire here.