Environment Trust welcomes new recruits to lead fundraising and restoration projects

Environment Trust, an environment and heritage charity based in South West London, has extended its team with the recently appointed Sophie Norden, as Fundraising and Partnership Manager and Emily Lunn, as Heritage Project Manager, reflecting the charity’s growth and the fact it is taking on new projects to conserve green spaces and heritage sites.

Sophie’s remit is to develop and expand fundraising opportunities, including securing grants and partnering with local businesses and community groups, as well as growing the charity’s corporate offering and engaging more of the public. Her previous roles include Communications Manager for iLUKA, part of the CSM Sports & Entertainment group, General Manager for property start up, The Spaces Collective, and Account Manager at PIMS-SCA, a leading risk management company.

Sophie says,

“I’m really excited to join Environment Trust, after first volunteering with the Trust on the Raeburn Open Space project last year. I have leadership, operations and relationship building skills, all of which I’ll be using to help the charity increase its fundraising and to develop existing and new corporate partnerships to maximise new funding opportunities.”

“Engaging people in their local environment is vital both for their wellbeing and to preserve the area in which we live. I’m really looking forward to developing the role and ensuring a sustainable future for the charity,” she adds.

One of Sophie’s first tasks is to engage corporate volunteers with the Marble Hill Revived project, which aims to transform Marble Hill House and Park into one of the best and most beautiful public spaces in London. Another fundraising project is the Plant Sale for Wildlife taking place in St Margaret’s on Sunday 28th April 2019.

The other new team member is Emily Lunn, who joined in September 2018 from charity, SAVE Britain’s Heritage, where she spent almost four years as senior fundraising officer. Prior to this, Emily worked as a network facilitator at SOAS University of London on a research project and as an administrator at the Deccan Heritage Foundation Limited.

Emily will project manage local restorations, working on buildings that are on Historic England’s at-risk register, along with locally listed buildings in need of preservation. As well as overseeing repairs, her role includes applying for grants, carrying out due diligence and finding sustainable solutions for heritage buildings.

Emily’s main project is the Grade II listed boathouse at Thames Eyot in Twickenham. With the support of Historic England, the aim is to restore the boathouse and remove it from the register of Heritage at Risk. Another project is the Grade II listed mausoleum in Mortlake, which has great local historical significance because Sir Richard Burton (1821-1890), a renowned Victorian explorer and prolific author, is buried there.

Emily says,

“Working at Environment Trust is a fantastic opportunity to do what I love, working with enthusiastic teams of people preserving listed buildings for future generations. I’m excited about working on the boathouse and the mausoleum projects, not only to restore them, but also bringing the stories associated with them alive to new audiences.”

Berny Simcox, CEO of Environment Trust says,

“It’s a very exciting time for the charity as we take on new projects and seek to mobilise more people to improve, preserve and protect their neighbourhood. Sophie and Emily are very talented individuals and they will be a great asset to the charity as we develop and grow.”

For more information about Environment Trust visit www.environmenttrust.org

Image: volunteers on the Raeburn Open Space project

About Lisa Baker, Editor, Wellbeing News 4211 Articles
Editor Lisa Baker is passionate about the benefits of a holistic approach to healing. Lisa is a qualified Vibrational Therapist and has qualifications in Auricular Therapy, Massage, Kinesiology, Crystal Healing, Seichem and is a Reiki Master.