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Sensory Trust team

Team

Our multi-disciplinary team brings together backgrounds in design, communication, community engagement, landscape management, access evaluation and education.

We are a creative bunch who work well together and share our experiences to spark new and exciting ideas.
Claire Fox looks at the camera. She is outdoors with a green background behind her

Claire Fox

[email protected] Claire runs our work that is developing sensory rich interpretation in industrial heritage settings. Claire's focus ... is to ensure that these destinations are open and accessible to all members of the community. With a background in community event production Claire brings a wealth of experience in putting together creative activities and events suitable for all ages and abilities. Claire bring a passion for both heritage destinations and accessibility to her role within the team. Contact Claire for information regarding our heritage work.
Claire Francis, Sensory Trust

Claire Francis

[email protected] Claire oversees all of our commercial activities including the day to day management of our trading ... subsidiary Orange Spiral Limited. Experienced in e-commerce development Claire has grown both our domestic and export market enabling the trust to reach its widest audience. Claire also heads up our communications activities from our newsletter to the website and beyond, Claire ensures that all messaging reflects the aims and mission of the Trust. Contact Claire for press enquiries, sales queries and wholesale opportunities.

Helen Rosevear

[email protected] Helen is our inclusive landscape architect and garden design specialist with a history of working in ... both the public and private sectors. With over 25 years’ experience in designing and project managing gardens and landscapes of all scales, Helen brings a wealth of expertise to the team. Helen has a passion for accessible, sensory rich and wildlife friendly landscapes and a strong focus on creating meaningful and sustainable outdoor spaces. Contact Helen for garden design queries.
Jacqui Sweet, Sensory Trust

Jacqui Sweet

[email protected] Jacqui runs our children and families activities and develops nature-based resources to connect children with nature ... and the outdoors. Jacqui has a wealth of experience in working with children with disabilities and their families. From setting up a play library to coordinating activities at a children’s hospice, her passion is to use play to improve family relationships and support learning. Contact Jacqui to find out how you can work with us on our children and nature project.
Jane Stoneham, Sensory Trust

Jane Stoneham

[email protected] Jane is our director and leads the strategic direction of the Sensory Trust. She is a ... member of our senior leadership team and an executive director of Orange Spiral Limited, our trading subsidiary. With a background in horticulture and social landscape, Jane’s passion for connecting all people with place has grown the impact of the organisation over the last 20 years. Jane’s publications and guidance are used across the world. Jane consults on accessibility and sensory design. Contact Jane for consultancy enquiries.

Katie Jennings

[email protected] Katie coordinates our dementia friendly activity groups, supporting both our volunteers and group members across Cornwall. ... Katie is an architecture graduate with a specific interest in landscape design. She brings valuable technical drawing and design expertise to the team providing support on a variety of projects and publications. Katie is passionate about inclusive and person centred design. Contact Katie for queries about our dementia friendly activity groups.
Lynsey Robinson, Sensory Trust

Lynsey Robinson

[email protected] Lynsey heads up our work with children and families, using inclusive, multisensory opportunities to connect children ... with disabilities with nature and the outdoors. Lynsey’s work ensures that children and their families are inspired to play and grow together. Her work provides special school teachers with access to resources and new skills to go with. With a background in design, Lynsey is passionate about creating inclusive nature-based opportunities for people of all ages to enjoy. Contact Lynsey about any of our young people and family projects.
Rosie Biggs, Sensory Trust

Rosie Johns

[email protected] Rosie leads on the development of learning and training resources for special schools, engaging special school ... children and teachers with nature and the outdoors. As a former special school teacher, Rosie brings a wealth of expertise in working in schools and with children and young adults with autism. Rosie’s skills with photography and film-making are shining through in our new film-based teaching resources and activity ideas. Contact Rosie for queries relating to our work with special schools.
Stuart Spurring, Sensory Trust

Stuart Spurring

[email protected] Stuart is assistant director and member of our senior leadership team. He is an executive director ... of Orange Spiral Limited, our trading subsidiary. With a background in graphic design and publishing, Stuart directs our Orange Spiral Limited activity and heads up our graphic design work. He is responsible for most of our information and interpretation design work. Stuart is also an accomplished games designer and responsible for our gofindit card game. Contact Stuart talk out consultancy work.
Victoria Hutchinson, Sensory Trust

Victoria Hutchinson

[email protected] Victoria is our assistant director, company secretary of the board of trustees, and executive director of ... Orange Spiral Limited, our trading subsidiary. Victoria heads up our income generation, planning and securing a diverse portfolio of funding. This provides a crucial platform for our work and relationships with funders, businesses and arts communities. Victoria oversees our financial management and charitable governance. Contact Victoria for funding and partnership opportunities and community development.
Wendy Brewin, Sensory Trust

Wendy Brewin

[email protected] Wendy heads up our work that is building connections with nature to benefit health and wellbeing ... and reduce social isolation. Wendy has built a successful model for using nature interventions in dementia care. This includes working with researchers to evaluate and refine techniques. Wendy brings a background in environmental management and education, and she is passionate about the benefits of building connections with the natural world. Wendy delivers consultancy work in community engagement and access. Contact Wendy about our dementia research community engagement work.

Trustees

Our Trustees generously contribute their valuable experiences and perspectives and keep a keen eye on our charitable aims and objectives.

We are lucky to be supported by people with experience of running major organisations, managing complex financial systems, working in strategic and policy development, greenspace design and management and all with a good understanding of diversity and inclusion issues.

Chris Phillips

Chris is our honorary treasurer and a director of our trading subsidiary, Orange Spiral Ltd. ... Chris is a Chartered Financial Planner and Director at Watson French Limited in Truro, Cornwall. Chris was elected as a Fellow of the Personal Finance Society in 2017. Chris’s background combines agriculture and financial management. Having been brought up on a family dairy farm in west Cornwall, he went on to study Agriculture at the University of Reading.

Dr Gary Mantle MBE

Gary is a founding member and Honorary President of the Sensory Trust. Gary was ... CEO of Wiltshire Wildlife Trust and has a wealth of experience in ecology and conservation management. He has always been passionate about environmental education and ensuring that opportunities to engage with wildlife and biodiversity are open to everyone.

Dr Kate Braithwaite

Dr Kate Braithwaite is our Chair and key advisor on community development and social enterprise. She ... is a director of our trading subsidiary, Orange Spiral Ltd. With a background in rural development and social enterprise, Kate has held successful directorships at UnLtd and Carnegie Trust. Kate is well respected within the voluntary sector and her wealth of experience is key to the smooth running of the Sensory Trust and our board of Trustees.

Kate Mitchell

Kate Mitchell is our advisor on health and wellbeing. Kate is Programme Lead for Long ... Term Conditions at NHS Cornwall, responsible for commissioning related health and social care services across Cornwall. She is a qualified Speech and Language Therapist with extensive experience of working with people with communication difficulties. Kate is passionate about ensuring people who cannot communicate for themselves have a voice.

Martin Page

Martin is Chair of our trading subsidiary, Orange Spiral Limited, and a previous Chair of the ... charity. Martin brings extensive experience of urban greenspace management, having worked for forty years in Local Authority Parks services. Martin was Head of Sheffield City Council's Parks Woodlands and Countryside Service with responsibility for over 700 sites and direction of a substantial greenspace team.

Michael Beck

Michael Beck is our advisor on disability and arts. As a founding member and ... previous Chair, Mick is an important touch-stone for Sensory Trust. He brings skills from policy management in the Civil Service and from his role as a counsellor. He shares valuable personal perspectives as a blind person who enjoys many facets of nature. We also value Mick’s creative flair, reflected in his accomplished career in experimental music.

Prof Ruth Garside

Professor Ruth Garside is our advisor on health-related research and partnerships. Ruth is an ... associate professor in evidence synthesis at the European Centre for Environment and Human Health, an international research centre and part of the University of Exeter Medical School. She leads a world-class programme of research exploring the connections between the environment and human health. Ruth's work has informed national policies including the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) and Defra.

Associates

Our Associates join us in project and consultancy work, and as advocates and advisors. They are specialists with diverse experiences, and we value the opportunity to work together.

David Kamp

David is a leading specialist in restorative landscape design. He was until recently Principal of Dirt ... Works landscape practice, based in New York, USA. David provides valuable insights to inform our thinking on healthcare landscapes, and we work together on designs for health and social care settings.

Dr Tony Kendle

Tony is a restoration ecologist. Following research and teaching at the University of Reading, he joined ... the Eden Project founding team to transform a disused quarry site into a global garden. He is now a writer, researcher and advisor. Tony is our guiding light on biodiversity action and engagement and regularly writes for us. He is author of A Wonder in the Garden.

Ellie Robinson Carter

Ellie, a former team member, now supports our dementia and intergenerational work in the community. ... Ellie is the Programme Director of MSc Dementia at University of Hull. She brings expertise in using creativity to make nature connections that benefit older people with dementia.

Karen Marnie

Karen is based in Scotland and is experienced in action research, interpretation and community engagement. She ... is leading the piloting of our dementia activity groups in St Andrews, and working with us on our diversity review for Trees for Life in the Highlands.

Richard Scott

Richard is director of the National Wildflower Centre, an organisation with community wildflower sowing and growing ... at its heart. NWC is now based at the Eden Project, Cornwall, but has its roots in Liverpool. It grew originally as a Millennium project run by the urban environmental organisation Landlife. We work together on community engagement and biodiversity projects.

Sue Humphries

Sue is known internationally for her groundbreaking work in growing Coombes School into the best-known example ... of nature-based learning in the UK. Her advocacy of nature-based learning has inspired a whole movement. In retirement, Sue continues to inspire our thinking, and we work together on shared writings.

Testimonials

“I love that the activities provide a purpose and focus for being outside. I've never seen all the kids so engaged.”

Special needs teacher

“Being in the walking group has given me so much more confidence, I've even got myself a small job. It's made all the difference to me.”

Walking group member, living with dementia

“This afternoon has made me feel well instead of ill.”

Activity group participant

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