Obituary: Remembering Dave Stanley

If you’ve ever met Dave Stanley, IEMA Fellow, you’ll know of his passion and drive for sustainability.

A former fighter-pilot trainer, coincidently based in the small Lincolnshire village I live in, he was a huge enthusiast for energy efficiency, and for rapid cuts in the use of fossil fuels as the solution for addressing climate change. Our conversations were always lively and sometimes long, particularly when we travelled together to Cumbria to assess an IEMA graduate programme. We agreed on most things and I was always left energised to do more – Dave’s enthusiasm was infectious.

I first got to know Dave in the late 1990s, as he moved from being the first environment manager of the Environment Agency to focus more on his other passion – pasture-fed livestock. He was a fantastic advocate and volunteer for IEMA, as a non-executive director on our Board (2013-16), a member of our Strategic Advisory Council, a training course assessor, and more.

Another member of the IEMA team, Tammy, remembers how Dave once “arrived at a panel meeting a few minutes late, telling us all he was sorry but he had been delayed by some difficult lambing during the night. On another occasion, Dave explained how a prize cow had managed to get out and end up in a water-filled ditch. Dave had waded in chest deep to rescue it, with no thought for his own safety.”

Sadly, Dave passed away suddenly in March. He will be missed by family, friends and colleagues, but his motto “tread lightly” is one that we can all carry forward.