Meet the Trustees: Steph Bright

Emma Chaplin
, 29 November 2025
Meet the Trustees: Steph Bright
Steph Bright © Victoria Barrell

Meet new Sussex Wildlife Trust Trustee Steph Bright (she/her)

Tell us a bit about yourself

Hi, I'm Steph! I live in Brighton with my partner and our cat Pumpkin, originally from South East London, I moved here for Uni and never left. I currently work in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and have a background in helping organisations to train their workforces and shape inclusive cultures. I love to hike, go to the cinema (Duke of York's is my happy place!), to see live music and I do a bit of sewing when I have time. Anything involving delicious food is also a favourite.

What drew you to becoming a Sussex Wildlife Trust Trustee?

I've always tried to find ways to get involved in my local community through volunteering alongside my day job as that's really important to me, and it has always been an amazing way to meet different people and develop new skills. I'm an animal lover passionate about wildlife, and have a big interest in sustainable design and consumption, so when I saw the Trustee role advertised, and that the Trust was specifically looking for people with DEI expertise, I figured it was a great time to apply!

Do you have a particular area of interest, in management of the Trust or wildlife in general?

I'm really excited to generally learn more about the conservation sector as it's not an area I've worked in before. I love bats and volunteer as a bat rescuer so probably know most about bats than other species, but have an interest in lots of our native wildlife from Badgers, to Foxes and especially Dormice. I've also been brushing up on my tree and wildflower knowledge over the last year so keen to keep learning about the beautiful wildlife we have on our doorstep. Naturally I'm hoping to use my DEI expertise to support the Trust with their Wild Sussex strategy and find ways to create more curiosity and participation with nature amongst communities.

Stanmer Park © Rachel Taylor

What is your favourite wild space in Sussex?

There are too many to name one! Stanmer Park is a nostalgic one as I lived on campus for my first year at Sussex University and loved being surrounded by the Downs there. I love the hikes around Cissbury Ring and a local I've been enjoying lately is Castle Hill up at Woodingdean.

What would be your ideal Sunday afternoon?

Ideally it's sunny, so first a hike up on the downs or somewhere scenic with a coffee, followed by a roast dinner with friends (parsnips are essential) and then we all go back to someone's house for drinks, some music in the background and a board game or just spend time catching up.

Tell us something about you most people won’t know

I spent time living in Sevilla and speak Spanish (although it's admittedly a bit rusty these days)!

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1782524627.20370 [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
1782524627.22920.0255Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1782524627.22930.0001Server address: 216.73.216.31
1782524627.22930Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1782524627.22930Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/meet-the-trustees-steph-bright
    [s] => meet-the-trustees-steph-bright
    [1] => meet-the-trustees-steph-bright
)
1782524627.22970.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782524627.23080.0011 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1782524627.23270.0019 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1782524627.23340.0007INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1782524627.23550.0021 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22332046
1782524627.23610.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=22332046
1782524627.23670.0006 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-06-27 01:43:00' AND saleTo>'2026-06-27 01:43:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1782524627.23810.0013 [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-trustees-steph-bright')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 01:43:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1782524627.24020.0022 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782524627.24070.0005 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=3847 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 01:43:00'
1782524627.24160.0009 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1782524627.24240.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1782524627.2430.0006Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782524627.24320.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 01:43:00' AND postSlug='meet-the-trustees-steph-bright'
1782524627.26420.021Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782524627.26480.0006 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1782524627.26660.0018Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1782524627.26690.0003 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1782524627.26770.0008 [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
1782524627.26890.0012 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782524627.2720.0031 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782524627.27260.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782524627.27450.0019Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1782524627.27450.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782524627.27530.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782524627.27580.0005 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782524627.27850.0027 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782524627.27950.001 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782524627.28030.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1782524627.28290.0026 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782524627.28370.0008 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1782524627.28620.0025 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1782524627.28670.0005Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782524627.28690.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1782524627.28760.0007Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1782524627.2880.0004 [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-trustees-steph-bright')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-06-27 01:43:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1782524627.29010.0022 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1782524627.29060.0004 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782524627.29390.0033Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1782524627.2950.0011 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=3847 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1782524627.34250.0475 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1782524627.34270.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1782524627.34290.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='20' LIMIT 1
1782524627.34370.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1782524627.34430.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1782524627.34470.0004 [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
1782524627.34660.0019 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782524627.34710.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782524627.34880.0017 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782524627.34960.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782524627.35020.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782524627.35060.0005 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1782524627.35290.0023 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782524627.35340.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782524627.35520.0018 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782524627.35880.0037 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1782524627.35940.0005 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1782524627.35980.0004 [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
1782524627.36230.0024 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782524627.36270.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782524627.36450.0018 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782524627.36650.002 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1782524627.36710.0006 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1782524627.36750.0004 [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
1782524627.36940.0019 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1782524627.36990.0005 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1782524627.37150.0016 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1782524627.37260.0011Request time: 0.1721
1782524627.37260Process time: 0.172
1782524627.37260Memory: 1.6218