Who we are

I am a long time resident of North Curry, near Taunton. Concern about the environment is a defining issue for me, having worked as a Landscape Architect for most of my life in both urban and rural areas.

Concern about the environment is a defining issue for me, having worked as a Landscape Architect for most of my life in both urban and rural areas.

During my time working for Somerset County Council I oversaw a wide range of environmental projects. Landscaping of new roads, quarries and waste sites were part of my remit. I ran a long term project to restore the Somerset countryside by awarding small grants to landowners and farmers to plant trees and hedges, create ponds, restore orchards, pollard willows and manage wildlife sites. At SCC I also oversaw the restoration of the Bridgwater to Taunton canal and creation of a 15 mile surfaced towpath for walkers and cyclists.

I am a Taunton Deane District Councillor for North Curry, Stoke St Gregory and Burrowbridge, the latter being the epicentre of the devastating floods of early 2014.

Now retired, I take an active interest in the three villages which I represent. I am a Parish Councillor in North Curry, involved in maintaining and improving the local footpath system and take a leading interest in the response to local housing proposals coming forward from the Local plan process. I initiated a community woodland near the village and lead a group of volunteers who maintain the area.

I am keen to see the rural economy and environment in the levels be more sustainable and feel that more resources must be directed to this aim.

Adrian’s past experience includes directorships of Wessex Reinvestment Trust and Brendon Energy.  He recently completed a ten-year spell as Chairman of Transition Athelney, which has been instrumental in a wide range of projects, including two major events promoting renewable energy solutions in Somerset.

Since 2012, Adrian’s specialism has been Climate Psychology, which aims to understand and help overcome the obstacles to effective engagement with our climate and ecological crisis.  It draws on the resources of Psychology and the psychological therapies and covers a wide range of factors such as denial, feelings of powerlessness and anxiety, also culturally reinforced attitudes such as sense of entitlement, consumerist notions of wellbeing and the delusion that human life can exist independently of the natural world. He co-founded the Climate Psychology Alliance www.climatepsychologyalliance.org

I moved to Somerset 25 years ago and live with my family on a small holding in Compton Dundon, overlooking the Levels.

As a schoolteacher and environmental enthusiast in the 1990s I created a business that through imaginative tree planting transformed the green deserts of school playgrounds into stimulating play areas. The initiative is now widely recognised as Forest Schools. Wishing to expand my knowledge I studied for an MSc in Environmental Biology specialising in the relationship between fungi and trees.

In 1992 I was invited by the British Mycological Society to join a research team in the virginal Ecuadorian rainforest. The beauty of the rainforest was breathtaking but over the next few years logging and mineral exploitation in the study area became a problem. Determined to address the issue I formed Outreach International a company that brought volunteers to Ecuador to assist with local forest initiatives. We offset the impact of international travel by planting oak trees and now have a fantastic woodland overlooking our farm. The business grew and over the next few years I had volunteers working across the globe supporting projects that included tree planting in the Palestinian Westbank and with landmine victims in Cambodia. As a result of this work, I was invited to become a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.

I have planted trees and worked with trees throughout my adult life but realising how much there is to learn I am now studying for an MSc in Arboriculture and Forestry. Climate change is arguably the greatest threat to our delicate planet and tree planting in the right location seems to be one of the best ways of tackling it. This is the focus of Reimagining the Levels. It is a privilege to be a part of such a worthwhile organisation.  

I joined RtL in 2020 and I’ve been very fortunate to be able to help deliver tree and hedge planting projects across Somerset. With much help from RtL members, land owners and volunteers we have created many new woodlands and hedgerows.

I’ve worked in horticulture for over 30 years, starting as a gardener in Italy and continuing when I moved back to England in 2000. In 2012 I qualified as a garden designer and set up my own practice. I soon became disenchanted with gardens as controlled spaces; I wanted wilder places drawing nature into gardens. I wanted people to be curators and supporters of natural spaces where wildlife thrives.

Inspired by my son who was studying permaculture I went on a Forest Garden course with Martin Crawford; it was really influential. More recently I’ve become interested in agroforestry and I went on Farm Ed’s Agroforestry Design Masterclass. I have designed and delivered agroforestry projects for two local farms and I’m working on a combined agroforestry and community allotment project in Compton Dundon.

This is a really exciting time, there is so much going on and so much to learn. I’m meeting so many people who are engaged and active and making a difference. I feel very connected to this area, this landscape. The more I see and the more I understand, the more connected I feel.

Community engagement is fundamental to creating change. Reconnecting people to nature, to the natural environment, to wildness is, I believe, essential for our survival. When we experience nature and begin to understand that we are part of it, we can begin to care for it. In doing so we care for ourselves.