Building community with 30 years of the Gatwick Greenspace Partnership

admin
, 02 July 2024
Building community with 30 years of the Gatwick Greenspace Partnership
Simon Rowledge, Pete Crawford, Mike Murphy © Gatwick Greenspace Partnership

Tamara Jewell

Community Project Officer for the Gatwick Greenspace Partnership 

This year we are celebrating 30 years of the Gatwick Greenspace Partnership (GGP), so I have been reflecting on this and my own journey. One day in 2010, my life changed when I rocked up to volunteer with school activities at Stanmer Park with Sussex Wildlife Trust.

This particular day was part of a Forest School programme - something I had vaguely heard of, but knew nothing about. 

Children running around exploring, using sharp tools, campfires, and cooking pizza in a clay oven they had built themselves. This was so exciting. Children learning skills, getting creative, assessing risk and exploring the wonders of the natural world. I knew immediately that becoming a Forest School practitioner was something I must do.

Youth Rangers © Tamara Jewell
Youth Rangers with a kelly kettle © Tamara Jewell

I think this is why this [main image] photo from the GGP archive appeals so much to me. In 2004, three Sussex Wildlife Trust/GGP employees went on a Forest School training course. You can tell from the photo how proud they are of the shelter they built.

To me, this photo marks a pivotal moment in celebrating 30 years of the Gatwick Greenspace Partnership, when the project started to shift from being purely land management focussed to emphasising community engagement. The ethos of Forest School is now strongly embedded into much of the work we do in promoting reconnection between people and the natural environment.

We are committed to take action for wildlife and owe much thanks to those pioneers who recognised the potential of Forest School as a powerful tool in building communities and nurturing meaningful experiences in nature.

The photo features Pete Crawford, then manager of GGP, now Parks and Countryside Manager at Horsham District Council. Simon Rowledge is now Senior Ranger at Buchan Park, Crawley. Mike Murphy trains Forest School and Beach School practitioners for Sussex Wildlife Trust. Gatwick Greenspace Partnership continue to work closely with all three of them as partners to the project.

Take Action for Wildlife

With so many species on the red list and at risk of extinction, we need to do all we can to stand up for wildlife. One of the best actions you can take to help is by joining us as a member or making a donation.

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Comments

  • Jonathan Best:

    Whilst I’ve only been volunteering with GGP on Wednesdays for about 2 1/2 years, neither the writer, those photographed nor the text reflect any of my experience with Greenspace. I was expecting to see some sort of acknowledgement for Kevin, who has led the group of volunteers for years.

    18 Jul 2024 11:35:00

  • Sussex Wildlife Trust:

    Thank you for your comment, we have some blogs around the 30th anniversary planned, including a celebration of volunteering with Gatwick Greenspace. We have also featured many volunteering tasks on the Gatwick Greenspace social media

  • Alan Walker:

    What exciting activity for young people.

    19 Jul 2024 16:22:00

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