In June, we were delighted to appoint Mandy Neill as a Trustee to help us run the community garden. Mandy is a regular volunteer on Fridays and, amongst many other things is part of the team building our new vertical garden.

 

Hello, my name’s Mandy and I’m a new Trustee for the Worcester Community Garden (WCG). There are four of us altogether now (myself, Tony, Steve and Jon) and our aim is to run the WCG as an effective charity that operates for the good of others in line with the guidelines of the Charity Commission.

I was inspired to visit the Worcester Community Garden in January this year following the stress of two years COVID pandemic and a visit to the Ross-on-Wye Community Garden through my work.

I find working in my own garden very calming and firmly believe that being outdoors, close to nature is good for the soul.

I have found everyone at the Community Garden very friendly and relaxed and really appreciate the value of the place to bring together a wide range of people who all have one small thing in common – wanting to enjoy the unique setting of the garden.

I have enjoyed the practical work of getting jobs done, as well as learning about such a wide range of plants and how the community garden works.

I am proud to have found that I can also give back some of the knowledge,  experience and ideas that I have. As a trustee I would like to continue to build on this and help the Worcester Community Garden welcome more and more people who can benefit from its wide range of features.

I am hard working, organised and committed to all that I do.  I am enthusiastic and can offer a balanced combination of creative inspiration with systematic analysis.  For a long time I have been interested in the effect our surroundings have on our everyday lives and am motivated to enhance this experience for other people.

I am a Landscape Architect and work part time. I have worked for multidisciplinary private companies which require internal team working with colleagues such as architects, engineers, transport specialists and planners, as well as other natural environment professionals in ecology, arboriculture and environmental assessment. I have also worked for two local authorities, both in a design capacity and as a planning consultee.

Academically I have a degree and post graduate diploma in Landscape Architecture and also a masters degree in Environmental Resource Management. I am a chartered member of the Landscape Institute.

I have lived in Worcester for about 11 years. Living centrally allows for sustainable transport, particularly the train, cycling and walking. I joined the Friends of Gheluvelt Park almost straight away and was involved with helping at some events in the park and organising a group of volunteers to paint the roadside and pondside railings. Through the Friends group I also became a regular volunteer at the Worcester Show, acting as judges assistant, volunteer greeter and also a helper on the information stall.  In addition, I carried out a voluntary admin role for the Worcester Show, working 4 hours per week over 6 months in 2019. I am also always keen to support and attend events at my children’s school, North Worcester Primary Academy and their beaver colony at 5th Worcester Sea Scouts.