Meet the staff: Sam Bisp-Cooke

Emma Chaplin
, 06 January 2024
Meet the staff: Sam Bisp-Cooke
Sam Bisp-Cooke © Jo Bisp-Cooke

Emma Chaplin

Communications Officer

Tell us a bit about yourself

I'd been working as a chef, but I'd been getting burnout from working evenings, holidays and weekends. I spotted a notice in Henfield Post Office saying that Sussex Wildlife Trust were looking for a cleaner. I was actually the only one who applied! I am pleased to say I got the job and started work at Woods Mill twenty years ago, in May.

I live in Henfield with my wife Jo, son Oliver and two stepchildren Sydney and Summer.

What do you enjoy about working for the Trust?

I love the fact that the Trust has given me a cosy cocoon for 20 years. It has felt like family and feels like a second home. I have made lifelong friends, who I wouldn't have met if I hadn't worked here. 

I'm guessing you've seen a few changes over the years?

Yes, in terms of the structure of the building (I was interviewed in what is now the communal staff seating area - that was an office), and in how many people work for the Trust and how it feels to work here. Partly the changes are because of Covid and a number of staff moving to work from home. 

I used to loved it when Amanda (Reeves) and Janice would put on nativity plays. They brought us all together, we had a good laugh and it was uplifting, especially at this time of year. 

How do you relax?

Good food, good company. Walks, especially on the beach. The Perch in Lancing is one of my favourite places. It's where I met my wife!

The beach is my happy place. I go there whether I'm happy or sad. It lifts me. 

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782735727.67530 [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
1782735727.70180.0266Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782735727.7020.0002Server address: 216.73.216.31
1782735727.70210Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782735727.70220.0001Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/meet-the-staff-sam-bisp-cooke
    [s] => meet-the-staff-sam-bisp-cooke
    [1] => meet-the-staff-sam-bisp-cooke
)
1782735727.70250.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782735727.70450.0021 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782735727.70660.0021 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782735727.70720.0006INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782735727.70930.0021 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22415944
1782735727.71030.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22415944
1782735727.71120.001 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-29 12:22:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-29 12:22:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782735727.71280.0015 [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-the-staff-sam-bisp-cooke')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-29 12:22:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782735727.71550.0027 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782735727.71630.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3284 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-29 12:22:00'
1782735727.71740.0011 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782735727.71830.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782735727.71910.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=195 LIMIT 1
1782735727.71980.0007Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782735727.72010.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1782735727.72120.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-29 12:22:00' AND postSlug='meet-the-staff-sam-bisp-cooke'
1782735727.74450.0234Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782735727.74510.0005 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782735727.74690.0018Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782735727.74720.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782735727.74810.0009 [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
1782735727.74960.0015 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782735727.75250.0029 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782735727.75310.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782735727.75520.0021Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782735727.75530.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782735727.75620.0009 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782735727.75670.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782735727.75990.0032 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782735727.76120.0013 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782735727.76230.001 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782735727.76540.0031 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782735727.76640.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782735727.76890.0025 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782735727.76940.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782735727.76970.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1782735727.77050.0008Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782735727.77090.0004 [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-the-staff-sam-bisp-cooke')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-29 12:22:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782735727.77290.002 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782735727.77350.0006 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782735727.77620.0027Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782735727.77750.0013 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3284 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782735727.82940.0519 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782735727.82960.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782735727.82990.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1782735727.83070.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782735727.83150.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782735727.8320.0006 [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
1782735727.83420.0022 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782735727.83470.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782735727.83660.0019 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782735727.83770.0011 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782735727.83830.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782735727.83910.0008 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782735727.84160.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782735727.84210.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782735727.84430.0022 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782735727.84780.0034 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782735727.84850.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782735727.84910.0005 [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
1782735727.85160.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782735727.85220.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782735727.85430.0021 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782735727.85590.0017 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782735727.85660.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782735727.85720.0005 [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
1782735727.85950.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782735727.860.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782735727.86210.002 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782735727.86360.0015Request time: 0.1898
1782735727.86360Process time: 0.1896
1782735727.86360Memory: 1.6221