Transition Stroud Newsletter Editor Josephine Murray (JM) talks to Caroline Pankhurst (CP), one of our newest directors.
See below for three things you can do today!
JM: What prompted you to join Transition Stroud?
CP: I grew up in Stroud and moved back here last after year after being involved in a range of environmental initiatives in London, including Transition Wimbledon. I joined TS as I wanted to use my experience to support green activities in my home town.
JM: What particular things have you done so far as a TS director and what else would you like to do in the role?
CP: I’d like to help strengthen TS as a key local environmental organisation. The first thing I did was to join a strategy day to agree the priorities for our future direction. Nature and sustainable gardening are my key interests so I helped on the TS stall at the Nature Festival in Stratford Park. I’ve also spent a lot of my life in fundraising so have helped to write some funding bids.
JM: Could you tell us about your work and how it relates to sustainability?
CP: I manage the South London Botanical Institute (largely remotely, since I moved here), a small botanic garden running plant-related activities for people of all ages and backgrounds. I’ve been there about 8 years and enjoy organising a wide range of sustainability talks and workshops.
I’ve also written two children’s books: The Guinea Pig Gardeners and The Guinea Pig Gardener and the Great Escape. They’re stories about guinea pigs who grow their own food and look after nature – with the aim of encouraging children to do the same! (I’m grateful to the Museum in the Park and Cornhill Pet Shop in Stroud for selling these for me, as well as www.etsy.com
JM: What do you do in your spare time?
CP: I enjoy helping at the new Down to Earth project at the Vale Community Hospital, gardening with people with dementia. I get out in nature whenever I can, walking and taking photos.
JM: Whereabouts do you live, and what do you like about that area?
CP: I live in Middleyard, where the people are really friendly and it’s a short walk to the top of Selsley Common for its amazing views.
| Three Things You Can Do Today 1. Collect fallen leaves and twigs into a messy pile in the corner of your garden. It will be a warm and welcome home for hedgehogs and all sorts of other wildlife this winter. 2. Put some peanuts or seeds out the birds – as we go into winter it gets harder for them to find food. Remember some water for them to drink too, especially on dry or icy days. 3. Grow some microgreens in a pot on a sunny windowsill. It’s a cheap and easy way to get nutritious salad and will inspire you to grow even more of your own food in the spring. |
Find out about more local Stroud Transitioneers
If you would like to share your sustainable living story, please contact Josephine on news@transitionstroud.org