Tributes paid to Ulster Wildlife boss who will be remembered as ‘force for nature’

The death of the head of the Ulster Wildlife charity has been described as a “huge loss” to the north’s conservation sector.

Jennifer Fulton, who became chief executive of Ulster Wildlife in 2012, died on Sunday at the age of 61 following a short illness.

A spokesperson for the charity described her as a “force for nature” and said she led the organisation with “passion, energy and dedication”, spearheading areas of work including farming with a renewed focus on nature and peatland restoration.

This included a 10-year plan to restore a commercially-harvested bog near Omagh in a first-of-its kind project that would return peat-forming plants to the site and help it store carbon.

In recent years, Ms Fulton also worked with the Department for Infrastructure to guide it in a new approach to verge management that ensures the protection of wildlife and the promotion of biodiversity.

Jennifer Fulton with Stormont infrastructure minister John O’Dowd in 2022.

In a statement on Monday, an Ulster Wildlife spokesperson said: “Her commitment and drive to achieve nature’s recovery through our work was evident and an inspiration to anyone that knew her.

“Jennifer’s passing is not only a huge loss to Ulster Wildlife but to the wider nature conservation sector in Northern Ireland, in which she played a pivotal part.”

They added: “As Jennifer’s colleagues and friends at Ulster Wildlife, we are understandably shocked and very saddened by her untimely death and we send our love and our thoughts to Jennifer’s husband Norman and their family at this most difficult of times.”

DAERA minister Andrew Muir said in a social media post the loss of Ms Fulton was “immensely sad news”.

“My thoughts and prayers are with Norman and family plus the many friends and colleagues who worked with and knew Jennifer, an exceptional person who is deeply missed,” he said.

Alliance South Antrim MLA John Blair said in a post he was “forever grateful for the meetings with Jennifer, the discussions and the advice since I joined the NI Assembly as well as her commitment to wildlife and our natural environment”.

A death notice described her as the “loving mother of Sarah, James and Peter, mother-in-law of Phil, sister of Owen and a dear sister-in-law”.

A funeral will take place on Wednesday at Stevenson’s Funeral Home in Ballymena before a burial at Connor New Cemetery in Kells.