At our AGM in April we elected two new directors to the board. This is the second of two short blog posts in which the new directors introduce themselves, the first post is here.
I have been environmentally active for the past 20 years since watching Al Gore’s film, “An Inconvenient Truth”. As a follower of Jesus, I was heart-broken by what I saw happening to God’s world and the impact of the film threw me into supporting my local Transition Towns and looking to promote Sustainability within my school and church.
As a Primary School teacher, I have been privileged to lead Eco Schools within my community, achieving Green Flags to celebrate the hard work put in by pupils and staff. I have also been able to write and teach a Sustainability curriculum across the school as well as develop Forest School provision in our own woodland.
Within my ministry, I pioneered a Missional Community called GreenLight which sought to Connect Christ, Creation and Community. We started Forest Church gatherings in 2018 which allowed us to worship God within creation, joining with creation. As well as holding clothes swaps, cycle events and allotment worship times, we also engaged with local environmental groups and climate protests. At my local church, I have promoted the Eco Church award scheme and worked to inspire leadership and action. We have hosted events for the Diocese and local area.
During this time, I discovered the John Ray Initiative through the CRES course. The course enabled me to develop a stronger theology surrounding the environment through: indepth reading of blogs, papers and recommended books. I was inspired by the thought-provoking modules and challenged in my own understanding with the focused questions for research. I am really excited to be part of this next chapter of JRI as a member of the Board of Directors and see how God will use the scientific and theological wisdom that has been gathered.
Outside of work, I enjoy reading, listening to music and walking, with the challenge to walk the 100 miles of the Leicestershire Round this year.