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Polli:Nation

Outdoor Learning Environment, Gildredge House School, Eastbourne 2015-2018

A three year project to completely transform a building site into an eco-garden that gives the children a natural space for exploration and play and an educational resource for the school. Inspired by the Bronze Age finds unearthed on the school site in the 1960s I designed a multi-functional environment with a replica roundhouse as it's focus. As project manager I worked with the wider school community to coordinate the build, planting and programme of workshops. I successfully bid for over £35K funding for the project including a Sharing Heritage grant from the HLF which enabled me to commission a team from Sussex Past to implement the roundhouse build. I devised a series of ancient craft workshops, events and an exhibition where over 1500 pupils, volunteers, community groups and the wider public had the opportunity to discover how our ancestors lived. I led the Eastbourne Cluster for Polli:Nation working with two other schools to help develop their garden areas in partnership with Learning for Landscapes.

Age Concern allotment coordinator, Eastbourne 2015-2018

Creating three community allotments for Age Concern. Together with my amazing team of volunteers we transformed three abandoned unloved plots into fantastically productive fruit, vegetable and flower gardens. The team won third place from over 1200 plots in the Best Kept Allotment in Eastbourne. I successfully bid for £12K funding from Tescos Bags of Help that enabled us to build a fully accessible summerhouse and greenhouse on our third plot and make the project sustainable. During the quieter winter season I organised garden visits and specialist workshops for the volunteers. We worked together to design and build a model beach hut shortlisted as the community entry for a seafront regeneration project led by Eastbourne Borough Council.

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