Shreeve worked for various PR companies before joining Carl Byoir and Associates where he created
Elms Across Europe for mailing company
Pitney Bowes. Over several years the
elm project involved the propagation and planting of disease resistant elms developed by
Prof Eugene Smalley of
Wisconsin University. The first to be imported in October 1979 were planted by the then US Ambassador
Kingman Brewster at the Pitney Bowes European HQ at
Harlow. The following spring more were planted in
Hyde Park and in the grounds of
Windsor Castle by
The Duke of Edinburgh. Shreeve met
David Bellamy when he planted
Sapporo Autumn Gold elms at
Marwell Zoo. They went on to found
The Conservation Foundation at the
Institute of Directors on 5 March 1982 at an event covered live by BBC TV’s
Pebble Mill at One and attended by the then Minister for the Environment
Michael Heseltine and representatives of environmental organisations, industry and commerce and the media. The event helped launch the Foundation’s first awards programme supported by
Ford. For the first two years this was held in the UK but then it extended into Europe adding more countries for each of its eighteen years. Other sponsors have included
Disney,
Trusthouse Forte,
National Grid,
Lloyds Bank,
Rio Tinto Group,
Sunday Times,
Tomy Toys,
Ladbrokes,
Wessex Water and
O2. The Foundation has also received funding from
Defra,
TACIS and charitable trusts, foundations and individuals. Shreeve was awarded the
Metropolitan Public Gardens Association's London Spade award in 2021. Shreeve worked closely with the
Church of England during the Conservation Foundation’s
Yews for the Millennium project and as a result was invited to become the Environmental Adviser to the
Archbishops’ Council and was awarded a
Lambeth Degree for his work in helping the CofE to understand its environmental responsibilities. He was appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the
2023 Birthday Honours for services to the environment. ==Bibliography==