Jan Bevington started the sanctuary in 1987 when a common seal washed up on the beach outside The Booth in Hillswick where she lived and worked. A lover of the environment since she was a young girl, Jan realised she had discovered a wildlife paradise when she arrived in Shetland in the early 1970s. Her love of the islands has never left her.
Pete Bevington felt that he had found home at last when he joined Jan in Hillswick in 1995 to share her love of nature and desire to help the environment. Pete worked as a local journalist until 2016 when he retired to devote himself entirely to the running of the sanctuary.
Siân Graham works for Shetland Vets, having qualified as a registered veterinary nurse in 2014. She has a passion for all animals, but is especially interested in exotic and wildlife species, and currently owns cats, ferrets and a labrador retriever. Siân has completed a marine mammal stranding sampling course and can often be spotted rescuing Shetland’s wildlife for animal welfare charity SSPCA.
Anne Barron moved to Shetland in 2007 after visiting the islands for several years when she got to know Jan and Pete and their work at Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary. As an artist with a passion for wildlife and conservation, and a history of raising funds and awareness for such charities, she is eager to help the sanctuary continue its vital work.
Richard and Alison Riley took early retirement in 2015 and following their love of wildlife and the environment they moved to Shetland. They met in the late 70s whilst both studying for degrees in applied biology at Nottingham University and have shared a love for nature ever since. They started volunteering at the sanctuary in 2016 and have supported the sanctuary and the vital work it performs ever since.
Alice Bacon first visited Shetland aged eight, when the islands’ rich wildlife and wild coastline made a deep and lasting impression upon her. After qualifying as a vet, Alice has worked in general practice, including a year in Shetland in 2011 when she also volunteered at Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary. Passionate about ecological conservation and wildlife health, Alice has an MSc in conservation veterinary medicine.
Sara Scott came to Shetland on a whim to volunteer at Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary in 2011 on her first solo trip abroad from the USA where she works as a photographer and activist for social and environmental issues, and raises funds for charities. Sara fell in love with Shetland, so much so that she returned to volunteer in 2014 and has kept in constant touch with the sanctuary ever since.
Katherine Robinson came to Hillswick Wildlife Sanctuary in 2008 as a BUNAC volunteer, and she immediately developed a special love for Shetland. Since then, Shetland’s landscape, history, and wildlife have inspired her fiction and poetry. She is currently a PhD candidate at Cambridge University where she is writing about Ted Hughes, ecology, and early Welsh literature.