lou james
founder
I’m Lou James and I’m a Family Psychotherapist. I set up the space2grow because I believe that being in nature can have a huge impact on our mental health. As a child I lived in a one bedroom flat with no garden. I joined a conservation group, spending weekends outdoors with a sandwich in my pocket and so began a lifelong love of nature. I love watching people young and old, share the space2grow and experience that joy of connecting with the natural world and with each other. Especially kids, like me as a child, who live in small flats, who begin to flower when they are given space to grow.
kelley taylor
parenting group leader & wellbeing intervention co-ordinator
I’m Kelley, since getting involved with space2grow I’ve attended the Parenting Puzzle course and found it so helpful I’ve now trained as a facilitator and really enjoy sharing the benefits with other parents. I also help support teenagers who visit the acre working with both Weydon and Farnham Heath End School. I love watching the magic of the acre in reducing anxiety and building confidence.
catherine floyd
space2play lead
I’m Catherine, a teacher with a passion for enabling children to learn outside and someone who believes strongly in community support. We all need to spend time in nature. Research shows that if a child spends time in natural settings, especially with their family, they grow to be adults who will care about the environment and and want to spend their time outside. We need to support our children to learn about and enjoy the natural environment because the world needs this enthusiasm and passion in the future. It is an absolute pleasure to watch the children grow at space2play. Parents also benefit from our sessions. As well as having a safe beautiful place for their children to play, a wonderful community of support and friendship has grown. I look forward so much to developing space2play in the future and providing more families in our community the wonderful opportunities it provides
ken mcgowen
Men in Sheds Lead
I’m Ken and being part of Men in Sheds has provided me with renewed interest and allowed me to engage in some old skills long forgotten. The team are great to work with and we have a lot of manly banter and lots of laughs, sometimes at stupid things we manage to do, which we put down to 'age'! Most of us are well into retirement, not that you would know it once we are all together, it’s more like a bunch of kids. We have achieved a lot over the years, providing lots of service for the community. I must say, for me, I feel a real sense of achievement and I look forward to my days at the acre. It is great making some new friends and if our plans for the future are successful we will all be able to make even more new friends and take part in many more charity and communal projects.
susie crosby
Garden Lead
Hi, Im Susie. I have been a professional gardener for 20 years plus, firstly running my own organic veg box scheme, delivering my home grown veg whilst bringing up 3 children. I then became the first ‘Grower manager’ for Farnham Community farm and learnt to grow veg on a much larger scale with the help of the local community, a most wonderful job. For the last 7 years I have been a private gardener and have also worked at Change of Scene, a local charity which help children who have difficulties with school by working with animals, plants and nature. I love sharing my knowledge and enthusiasm for plants, soil and everything green.
kate newton
project manager & parenting group leader
Hi I'm Kate, a local mum kept busy with two boys. I love seeing the sense of community that is created through the activities we host and how nature can have such a healing and therapeutic effect without us even realising it. Magic. With a background in marketing, I help manage the charity as well as the website and communication at the space2grow. I completed the Parenting Course a few years ago and found it tremendously valuable in helping with day-to-day family life. Since then I've trained to become a facilitator of the courses and help run them in our 'Talking Shed'. I'm passionate about the parenting programmes and love sharing the journey with other parents, learning so much on the way. It’s a special place for so many when they walk through the wooden gate.
gerard nicholson
gardening group support
I’m Gerard, since retiring in January 2001, I have taken on an allotment learning how to grow fruit and vegetables. I have also taken on the role of allotment rep at Council Meetings also volunteering for Farnham in Bloom at the Council greenhouses. I have recently started to help in Gostrey Meadow alongside planting spring bulbs around the town. space2grow is something I really enjoy doing passing on my knowledge to the younger people. They are very keen to learn getting very excited seeing their efforts rewarded with real food for the table. I get as much pleasure from it as everyone else and look forward to continuing with my advisory role next year.
nicola chinn
trustee
I’m Nicola and have lived in and around Farnham all my life. I’ve been involved in space2grow from the beginning, helping to shape ideas for the space, growing my limited gardening knowledge and, most importantly, enjoying spending time outdoors with the space2grow community.
nick green
trustee
I’m Nick and after many years of living in London I returned to Farnham for a peaceful retirement. I started to get involved in 2017 and when s2g began to get outside funding and I took the role of Treasurer.
john negus
trustee
I’m John and there are two things in life that are important to me: growing choice plants and sharing my passion for them. Pleasingly, I have combined the two. After studying horticulture at Wisley Gardens and Merrist Wood colleges, I spend much of my time speaking to gardening clubs, W. I.s and many other societies, and enjoying stimulating phone-in Sunday mornings at Radio Surrey. I began my journalistic career around 50 years ago, writing for Home Gardener, which not only covered plants, but ducks, geese and goats. I now answer queries for Amateur Gardening – a great privilege and an exciting challenge. My ethos is simple: I enjoy gardening and associating sculptural forms and colours, and I want other people to enjoy its therapeutic qualities.
Kate Chernyshov
trustee
I'm Kate and I am a Trustee of space2grow. I have lived in Farnham for more than 30 years and have always enjoyed the outdoors and developing a better understanding of the natural world. I am a strong believer in growing communities which bring huge benefits to everyone involved; I have seen Space2Grow emerge from the seed of an idea to real-life community that is full of joy and purpose. As a professional fundraiser, I want to help secure Space2Grow at the heart of Farnham for many years to come.