Meet our members - Paul Robards

Emma Chaplin
, 11 November 2021
Meet our members - Paul Robards
Paul Robards © Emma Chaplin

I meet Paul Robards on an autumn afternoon under the arches of the entrance to Broadwater and Worthing Cemetery, which opened in 1863. 

We pass the plaque dedicated to famous naturalist Richard Jefferies and nature writer William Henry Hudson, both of whom are buried in the cemetery.

Paul works as a Building Control Officer for Adur and Worthing, but he's been involved with initiatives to encourage wildlife in this cemetery since 2008, and was an original Friend of the Cemetery from the concept of the Friends Group (it now has 100 members). He has also been a supporter of Sussex Wildlife Trust for over 30 years.

Broadwater and Worthing Cemetery
Paul Robards

We wander for a bit then sit on a smart oak bench paid for by the Friends, while we discuss the successes and improvements that Paul and the Friends have achieved here.

He explains that he was born in Bexhill and now lives in Lancing with wife Linda. "I've always been an outside person, and enjoy observing all nature, but particularly butterflies and birds." How did he come to be so involved with the cemetery? "I found it whilst visiting nearby St Mary's churchyard, researching the history of local churches. It touched my heart how rundown St Marys was and I wanted to help so I repaired and logged the graves then started coming here. Initially, I was overwhelmed by the size of the cemetery (14.5 acres) but I'd been inspired to think what might be possible after listening to a wildlife talk by Michael Blencowe in Malling churchyard."

squirrel on a gravestone
Paul Robards

Paul is now the nominated Wildlife and Clearance Coordinator of the Friends. He has written a book about the cemetery and is involved with running volunteer clearance days. The Friends Group undertake research about the history of the cemetery and organise tours throughout the year. He takes lots of photos of the wildlife and has encouraged others to share theirs by running a couple of recent photography challenges.

The cemetery has a good mixture of mature trees, shrubs and grassland. There are plenty of berries at present, as well as ivy in flower for nectar on the sunny north school boundary. "We've put up bat and bird boxes," he tells me. "I have two areas that I look after in a way that supports wildlife. We've had Sparrowhawks nesting here in recent years. There are foxes and hedgehogs as well as lots of different birds and butterflies. We've got Pyramidal Orchids too." 

pyramidal orchid
Paul Robards

"What I'm most proud of is that we've negotiated with the council to sympathetically maintain the cemetery, with guidance and co-operation, working together to hopefully achieve the best times to cut the grass etc for the cycle of butterflies. We're on the same side now, which is rewarding for all."

See here for more information about the Friends of Broadwater and Worthing Cemetery, including tours and activity days. 

Leave a comment

Comments

  • Doreen Mills:

    I used to work with Paul many years Go and would love to get back in-touch with him.

    21 Oct 2022 19:47:00

  • Sussex Wildlife Trust:

    Hi Doreen. Did you notice the link to the Friends on Broadwater Cemetery in the blog?  You could always get in touch with them http://www.fbwc.co.uk/Contactu...

Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1783037417.31090 [906] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1783037417.34110.0301Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1783037417.34130.0002Server address: 216.73.216.31
1783037417.34130Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1783037417.34140.0001Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/meet-our-members-paul-robards
    [s] => meet-our-members-paul-robards
    [1] => meet-our-members-paul-robards
)
1783037417.34170.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783037417.34380.0021 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1783037417.34610.0023 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1783037417.34660.0005INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1783037417.3490.0024 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22543939
1783037417.34980.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22543939
1783037417.35090.0011 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-07-03 00:10:00' AND saleTo>'2026-07-03 00:10:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1783037417.35230.0015 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='meet-our-members-paul-robards')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-03 00:10:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1783037417.35520.0028 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783037417.35580.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=2665 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-03 00:10:00'
1783037417.35670.0009 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1783037417.35730.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1783037417.3580.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=195 LIMIT 1
1783037417.35860.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=227 LIMIT 1
1783037417.35940.0008Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783037417.35960.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1783037417.36050.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-03 00:10:00' AND postSlug='meet-our-members-paul-robards'
1783037417.38110.0206Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783037417.38280.0017 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1783037417.38440.0016Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1783037417.38460.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1783037417.38540.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1783037417.38690.0015 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783037417.38970.0029 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783037417.39330.0035 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783037417.39540.0022Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1783037417.39550.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783037417.39640.0009 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783037417.39690.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783037417.39970.0028 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783037417.40080.0011 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783037417.40150.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1783037417.40450.003 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783037417.40540.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1783037417.40750.0021 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1783037417.40810.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783037417.40850.0004 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1783037417.40930.0008Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1783037417.40970.0004 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='meet-our-members-paul-robards')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-07-03 00:10:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1783037417.41180.0021 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1783037417.41230.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783037417.41510.0029Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1783037417.41660.0015 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=2665 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1783037417.47630.0596 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1783037417.47690.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1783037417.47710.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1783037417.47810.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1783037417.47880.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1783037417.47950.0007 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783037417.48160.0021 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783037417.48220.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783037417.48430.0021 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783037417.48550.0012 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783037417.48620.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783037417.48660.0004 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783037417.49170.0051 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783037417.49230.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783037417.49660.0043 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783037417.50040.0038 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1783037417.50140.001 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1783037417.50190.0005 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783037417.50410.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783037417.50450.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783037417.50660.002 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783037417.50890.0024 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1783037417.50980.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1783037417.51040.0006 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1783037417.5140.0036 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1783037417.51470.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1783037417.51750.0028 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1783037417.51920.0017Request time: 0.2098
1783037417.51920Process time: 0.2097
1783037417.51920Memory: 1.6302