I am a suit wearing tree hugger. I have 20 years experience of working in the community, both in the third and public sectors.  I studied permaculture under Patrick Whitefield and I have an MA in Language Plans and Policies. I am a Councillor and member of the Cabinet at Gwynedd Council.

I believe that we as the people of Wales need to create a sustainable future as much as possible and also believe that we as people of Wales actually know how to do this.

I wanted to work with Renew Wales because they facilitate, nationally the fantastic work that is going on at a community level. In my opinion the scheme bridges the gap between “bottom up” and “top down”.

What is the attraction to this kind of work or share a story of how you have supported a group in your work with RW?

The most successful thing that I have been a part of with Renew Wales in my area is the organising of the Gwynedd 2030 conferences. Following Cyngor Gwynedd’s declaration of Climate Emergency, we arranged 2 events to gauge our response as a county. With over 100 people attending the events, it was brilliant to see the eagerness to do something and hear from exciting projects who are already taking action. The outcome of the events was the creation of ‘to-do lists’ and there is a smaller group of people who were about to start planning the next one… when COVID 19 came along…

What is your vision for your area 2050?

North West Wale is fortunate because it still has the sense of community spirit and we are used to working together to solve community issues. In addition to that we have an ‘embarrassment of riches’ in terms of natural resources and talent. I want to see us using those resources to create an environmentally, social and economically sustainable future.