John Nicholas Bowden
Trustee
Brief info
John Bowden has a long-held love of Kenya and family connections there. He first became involved with Rhino Ark as a competitor in the inaugural UK Rhino Charge in 1997 and then in the Kenyan event in 1998. As the owner of Gumtree 4x4 Ltd, the event suited him as a Kenyaphile and off-road enthusiast and the fact that money was being raised for Rhino Ark was the bonus that sealed his ongoing interest. He became a Rhino Ark UK trustee in 2004, ran the UK Rhino Charge until 2016, and is now working with Kit Kaberry in particular to improve knowledge of and support for Rhino Ark in the UK and to seek out new sources of funds and devise events to bring in fresh donors. He attends such events as the Goodwood Festival of Speed and 4x4 Expo on behalf of Rhino Ark and will happily admit that he can “bore for England” on the work of the charity and how well it fits in with direct action conservation work benefitting people, wildlife and the environment. If you need someone to speak about Rhino Ark he is happy to step forward and help.
John’s Kenyan Rhino Charge team using his home-built Land Rover aka “Car 9” has competed in 21 Charges in the UK and then Kenya, won the UK Charge outright and the Unmodified class in Kenya amongst other successes, and raised over £155,000 for the charity in the process. He believes that at present rhino Ark is “one of the best-kept secrets in conservation work” and intends to do everything that he can to change this!