Arrangements for the Celebration Service for
Mark Boulton
Stratford Methodist Church
Friday 3rd January 2025 at 3pm
Mark’s family and friends are gathering at Stratford Methodist Church on Friday 3rd January at 3pm to celebrate his life and say goodbye to him. All those who knew and loved Mark are welcome to attend.
A private family burial will be taking place earlier in the day at Sun Rising Natural Burial Ground.
After the church service Mark’s family would be pleased if you could join them for afternoon tea and refreshments which will also take place at Stratford Methodist Church.
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Messages / Comments
Please see the tabs below for directions and further information about the funeral.
Mark’s family welcome any tributes, words of remembrance and stories about him so do feel free to leave any messages at the bottom of this webpage. (Please note comments are moderated so do not go live immediately)
Stratford Methodist Church
Address: Old Town, Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 6BG
You can find a map by clicking this link
The church has its own car park and there is on street parking nearby.
Donation / Flowers
If you wish to make a donation in memory of Mark, please consider Prostate Cancer Research or WWT, the charity for Wetlands Wildlife.
Dresscode
No black please.
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What a wonderful example! Mark was such an inspiration to me, in his determination to do the best he could in caring for God’s creation. I give thanks for his life.
I am saddened to hear of the loss of Mark for his family, friends and community.
I feel honoured to have known him and benefitted from his and Sonia’s generous support for the local youth club and other green initiatives.
A kind and always thoughtful presence helping us wherever he could.
I learnt a lot from him and enjoyed discussing various initiatives and issues in person and via email.
It was a privilege to work with Mark over a 10 year period when I was involved with the International Centre for Conservation Education. Mark was a force of nature and …a force for nature. I know his life’s work of raising awareness of the fragility of the natural world and our place within it, will be carried on through all those whom he helped train and equip for this important task. The world is a better place for men and women like Mark.
Mark was an inspiration to me both through his work with ICCE and his example in sustainable living. he helped this old oil man to change direction and commit to a more sustainable way of life.
So sad to hear of Mark’s passing. Love and condolences to Sonia, all family and those who knew him.
I can never thank Mark enough for his vision and friendship. Mark introduced me to Africa and increased my connection and work with wildlife and sustainability, all through his work to create the Banjul Declaration – the first African wildlife conservation charter for The Gambia, which I illustrated. Fate saw us reconnected in 2017 through my work in Kenya and his work with the Elsa Conservation Trust. It was a joy to meet up with him again, and with Sonia, who both welcomed me as a long lost friend. He will be sorely missed but his vision and work will continue to touch and change lives.
I first met Mark at the Pan-African Wildlife Generator (Malawi, February 1996) that was organised jointly by the national government of Malawi and ICCE. In three short months after that Mark and his team managed to get me to ICCE to be part of that year’s cohort of trainees with colleagues from Ghana, India, Malawi and Uganda. The training was provided not only by ICCE staff but also by Mark’s whole family; equipping us with all sorts of skills needed for effective environmental education. Mark was among my main sources of inspiration that led me into a career in conservation. His tireless dedication to Africa’s people and wildlife leaves a huge legacy will live on among the dedicated environmental educators and conservationists of my generation.
Mark was a very special man – principled, driven, emphatic and a great sense of humour. He took a gamble offering me a post at ICCE when I’d just returned from the field and had a PhD to construct whilst starting a new challenging job. We were a close team/community at ICCe. I will never forget those times, nor Mark and his family. Farewell Mark and thank you.
Accidentally I came to think about Mark this morning, so many years after we met for the last time, in the late seventies. And found that he sadly passed away a short time ago.
We, John Smyth, John Baines, David Elcome and others from the IUCN Commission on Education then visited him at his house. We were quite impressed by his mobile (environmental) education work in Africa. His contribution to our thinking about EE was clearly that he opened up our eyes for the entire world to be educated about, much wider than the local issues that kept us busy in our daily work. And, besides, I remember him as such a pleasant person!