Kenneth Greenway, Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park Manager, writes:
It’s an exciting time for The Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park, as slowly but surely we are starting to grow as an organisation. In the past three months we have welcomed two new members of staff to the team. Stephen Kershaw (above left), Cemetery Park Officer, joined us in September, and Tess Pettinger (above right), the Training and Learning Development Manager who started in October.
Now settled in, I asked both of them how they are finding their new roles, their background and what they have planned for the Park.
Stephen
“After several months working in the park I’m settling in nicely and developing more of an understanding of the site and all its natural and historical quirkiness.
I’ve always had a keen interest in things that grow, buzz and crawl and prior to joining the Friends, I had worked for the RSPB for almost 10 years. I’ve been very lucky to have worked in conservation all over the UK from the reedbeds in Dorset, the fells and woods of the Lake District, all the way up to the windswept, seabird rich, Shetland Islands. I hope to share all the conservation knowledge I’ve gained through the years here in the park to continue making this place the fantastic biodiverse island in the sea of tarmac and hi-rise that surrounds it.
I am also in the process of organising a range of green woodworking courses. The next one is on February the 7th, where you can learn to carve a beautiful, yet simple, butter knife. More details about this course, and others, can be found on our website.”
Tess
“My first two months here have absolutely flown by, and I have enjoyed every minute of it – there is so much to learn about the Park, from those living and the dead therein. I am attempting to absorb as much as possible from Ken, Terry and the rest of the team. Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park has so much to offer and I feel extremely privileged to call it my place of work.
The main crux of my role is to establish environmental training, leisure learning and practical environmental consultancy. My post is being jointly funded for three years by The City Bridge Trust, Esmee Foundation and Goldman Sachs, and I will be reporting back to them on regular intervals.
Before joining the Friends I worked as a Nature Conservation Ranger for The London Borough of Redbridge. This role gave me a fascinating insight into the habitats and species in and around London. I also learnt a great deal about engaging the local community with parks and open spaces.
I look forward to sharing with you the exciting training, events, and leisure learning activities which we are currently developing for 2015. If you want to be kept in the loop please do sign up to our new monthly e-newsletter. It’s really simple to do, just go to our website and fill in your details”
The Friends of Tower Hamlets Cemetery Park can be contacted via their website, by e-mail, or by phoning 020 8983 1277.
