Staff and Trustees

Meet the Team

Meet the Trustees

  • Annabel Prentice Botterill (Chair)

    (she/her)

    I have been incredibly honoured to have gotten to contribute and support Calthorpe as the Chair of the trustees over the last year. I first got involved with Calthorpe through corporate volunteering 3 years ago - helping in the Garden, helping cook meals for the community, and organising digital education courses for the community. From my first visit to Calthorpe, it was clear to see what a special and unique community organisation it was.

  • Neil Hart-Camus (Vice-Chair)

    (he/him)

    I am used to encountering white, middle-class individuals caring for public green spaces in central London, and have been struck by Calthorpe's capacity to engage a diverse representation of its local community in the gardens. It is this that I find most inspiring. It represents a vision of how public green-spaces could be used beyond simply recreation, engaging community members in building sustainable relationships through acts of care across human and non-human urban inhabitants. 

    In walking through the gardens you encounter hopeful messages inscribed on plaques that speak of care for diverse marginalised communities. There are also hopeful messages inscribed in the plants and animals that thrive here, with their links back to the diverse human communities who care for them - banana trees, olives, Peru-apples to name a few. 

  • Michal Jordan (Treasurer)

    (she/her)

    Calthorpe Community Garden's mission to promote sustainability, inclusion, and community empowerment strongly aligns with my values and professional experience. The chance to support a green space that brings people together to learn, grow, and connect is deeply motivating. I'm especially inspired by Calthorpe's focus on environmental stewardship and social cohesion-key ingredients for thriving communities.

  • Umayma Chakour (Secretary)

    (she/her)

    I am a 23 year old who is local to Calthorpe and passionate about the environment, charity work and sustainability. I grew up attending workshops at Calthorpe and I currently volunteer in the Sunday afternoon gardening sessions, and have previously volunteered for the Food for Homeless project and the No Car-boot sale.

    I grew up around Calthorpe and almost all of the enrichment activities I did as a young person were through community sponsored events. I fondly remember making bird feed balls, pond dipping to look for frogs, and making food in the community kitchen at Calthorpe. I credit these experiences throughout my youth for my passion about the environment and community initiatives.

  • Bridget Freer (Safeguarding)

    (she/her)

    I have lived in the Camden area for 20+ years and before that in Finsbury Park for 10+ years and have always volunteered in one capacity or another. I am a mother (of one) and was always involved in reading and gardening projects at my daughter's schools and have volunteered in the garden at the Calthorpe Project since spring 2025, which I love. My first career was as a journalist, and I then retrained and am now a psychotherapist. Calthorpe combines my interests in community; nature, the outdoors and mental health and wellbeing and how they all interplay.

  • Becca Farnum

    (she/her)

    I am an environmental peacebuilding researcher and educator. I work at the intersections of environmental activism, conflict resolution, and capacity-building with a particular passion for justice and equity, leveraging academia for public service and policy impact.

    I served as a 2025 Trustee for Calthorpe Community Garden, supporting the Business Working Group and getting involved in special days like the Black Mary celebration and Day of the Dead festival. During my time with the Garden, I have come to be incredibly inspired by the way that local collective action has protected the space as a hub for the community.

  • Fiona Hale

    (she/her)

    In June, me and my partner Tom joined the volunteer gardening group. We live nearby in a flat with no garden. It has been restorative to come to Calthorpe, put on gardening gloves, pick up a spade, get my hands into the soil and help with planting and growing, guided by Charlie who is amazing at explaining what needs doing and why. It's the highlight of my week. I love that food grown in the garden is part of the community lunches. Having the chance to sit and eat with other people who spend Fridays at the Calthorpe - fellow gardeners, people from the Latin American community, staff, volunteers, and others - is just wonderful. 

  • Fran Hanlon

    (she/her)

    Originally from Liverpool, I have lived in the immediate vicinity of the Calthorpe Gardens for almost 50 years. I became involved in the early days of the project's existence, which coincided with the birth of my son. As a single mother, I became involved in several community projects in the local area involving families, such as the Calthorpe Gardens and Coram Fields and St George The Martyr primary school. 

    I am passionate about ensuring the continued existence of the Calthorpe project as a space providing a safe environment for the local community, in particular families and children and encouraging and fostering an environmental awareness through physical gardening opportunities, engaging in constructive active play, exercise and artistic activities. 

  • Holly Norman

    (she/her)

    Since moving to London in 2023, I've come to deeply value Calthorpe Community Garden as a rare and vital space where people from all walks of life can connect, learn, and relax. I first became involved as a trustee in Spring 2025 and have greatly enjoyed working alongside staff, trustees, and community members to support Calthorpe's mission.

    Calthorpe Community Garden is such a unique and vital space - a place that brings people together to connect, learn, and care for one another and the environment. The sense of community and belonging it fosters is what makes it so special. I love spending time in the garden, attending events, and joining yoga sessions, and I'm always struck by how inclusive, welcoming, and vibrant the space feels. It is a rare example of what urban community life can be when people are given the space and support to thrive together.