Barney brings a fun approach to his work at Down to Earth Project. With a background in primary teaching, forest school, play work and consultancy, Barney leads a wide range of programmes for young people and adults (in natural building, wilderness activities and circus skills…..) and he’s become especially interested in coracles!
Seb is our Project Manager for the Our Bright Future (OBF) Project, ‘Building Sustainable Communities’. Having completed his post graduate certificate in Sustainable Construction, Seb also project manages our major construction contracts. He has a keen interest in adventurous activities and co-ordinates our Adventure Activities Licence and is a fully qualified youth worker. Seb’s passion is for being outdoors and adventurous, but is equally happy sat in one of our beautifully constructed offices planning the next build project!
Steve is our fantastic timber framer, and has been with the team since early 2014.
Sean is our carpenter. He also loves geckos.
Kate is a great group worker, queen of the D2E organic garden, and Evaluation & Monitoring Administrator for the People & Places project. As well as ensuring we have a good supply of yummy fruit and vegetables, she also bakes fantastic cakes!
Ian is a Lead Facilitator for the Our Bright Future Project. He also has a background in Adventurous Activities and Youth Work, with experience in setting up Swansea Youth Service’s Venture Pursuits Team. Working overseas in the Middle East he combined Adventurous Activities, Youth Work, Leadership and Personal Development programmes. Additionally Ian has a keen interest in entrepreneurship and runs his own business.
“After spending several years at Down to Earth with a split role in architectural design and construction-based support work, Tasha has now decided to focus on architecture and designs many of the sustainable building projects we are involved in. She likes bringing Down to Earth’s groups into the design process as well as including them in the construction activity.
A recently qualified Architect, she’s glad to be out of the world of study, and into the world of putting theory into practice.
Tasha is part of a community supported agriculture group, growing much of her own food and is in the middle of converting a Luton van (almost as old as she is) into a home.”
Ian is another of our Lead Facilitators on the Our Bright Future project. With a background in commercial construction and in outdoor adventurous activities, he loves working with groups and enjoys the sustainable approach to building adopted at Down to Earth
Chris is the Project Manager for our Active Inclusion Fund project ‘Build Me Up’. He is also involved as a Development Officer and brings a wide range of experience in outdoor learning and well-being to help us develop new products, partnerships and plans. He brings his experience in training and education to provide our Internal Quality Assurance (Agored Cymru) role and helps to develop a great range of accredited courses for our participants. Chris is an enthusiastic musician playing guitar and bass in a local band.
Jake is a facilitator on Our Bright Future project. He’s a triple threat of Designer, Builder and facilitator. Having studies Architecture Technology and the Environment, he then worked in practice for over half a decade, before concluding that being desk based wasn’t for him. He turned his knowledge into practical applications, specializing in natural/sustainable building for the last 5 years. Alongside his other work, Jake has always had a sideline of youth work and snowboard instructing. Down to Earth fits in well with Jake’s passions for natural building, youth work and outdoor activities. When he’s not at work your probably find him on a beach, volunteering with Surfability, as a community Rep for Surfers Against Sewage or just walk his Dog.
Adam is a support worker on the Our bright Future project. With many years experience working with adults and young people, he believes passionately in using nature and natural building as a tool to bring out the best in people. Adam has travelled extensively, working with organisations in Guatemala, Romania and Greece and has now settled in Wales’ most exotic clime, to work with the Down to Earth team.
Lisa is our amazing accounts & team administrator. With a background in accounts and event planning, Lisa brings together a variety of skills to help support the fantastically talented team at Down to Earth. Lisa lives in Mumbles with her husband, two little boys and their ancient dog. She enjoys running and was training for her first triathlon this year… She is also busy completing a degree in Education Studies in her spare time
Laura is our Administrator for the Active Inclusion Fund project, “Build me Up”. Laura moved to Swansea to study Zoology at University and loved having the beaches and Brecon Beacons on the doorstep so never left… She really enjoys hiking and being outdoors and loves exploring new places with her rescue dog Billy, particularly climbing mountains!
Our new Community Grower!
Our new Finance Manager
As a social enterprise and a company limited by guarantee (5342802) we have a board of directors who provide accountability and ensure good governance for both our participants and our funders. See this section for more detail.
Jen is a founding Director of Down to Earth Project and combines her passions for therapeutic development and natural building in her work at D2E. Jen is our main consultant in traditional and natural building projects and is fully trained as a Gestalt Psychotherapist (UKCP registered).
Mark is a founding Director and manages both Down to Earth Project and Down to Earth Construction. Passionate about equality and bringing out the best in people, his background is in working with ‘hard to reach’ groups and practical approaches to sustainability education. Mark’s Masters (MA) thesis explored how tackling inequality and sustainability go hand in hand and this formed the basis of Down to Earth. Mark was honoured with the MBE for Services to Young People and Environment in 2020. Mark has been happily living off-grid in a wooden house for over 15 years and has two lovely daughters.
Nick is a Non-Executive Director of Down to Earth Construction with a vast experience of delivering innovative/sustainable buildings. In 2005 Nick established BRE Wales and went on to develop the first zero carbon Passivhauses in the UK. Nick instigated Wales’ largest ever housing energy efficiency programme; Arbed, and spent 3 years advising the Welsh Government on regenerating the Heads of the Valleys. Nick also established Woodknowledge Wales, a programme to develop new technologies to utilise Welsh timber in construction on behalf of the Welsh Government. Over the last 5 years Nick’s work has mostly been focused on improving the way we design, build and operate buildings via Building Information Modelling. In 2015 Nick set up coBuilder UK, a business that supports manufacturers to share data, clients and contractors to utilise the data to improve construction and operation decisions in buildings.
Simon is a Non-Executive Director of Down to Earth Construction and the Head of Communications and Sales for HAB (Happiness Architecture Beauty) Housing. He’s been responsible for the strategy and implementation of the public-facing parts of HAB’s innovative business for over four years. Before this he had his own consultancy business– covering environmental campaigns and communication – with clients including the UK Green Building Council, WWF, BioRegional Development Group and the Stop Climate Chaos coalition. He is happily ensconced in his own low impact self-build with his wife Bec, two kids – Ned and Kitty and dog Fred.
David is a Non-Executive Director of Down to Earth and an Environmentalist specialising in the restoration of rivers and the creation of new wetland habitats throughout the UK. He has a passion for rivers, local food and real ale.
Maggie is a Leadership Development and Training specialist with over 40 years’ experience in both the UK and Africa. As well as working within and for many multi-national organisations, she was Programme Director at the Graduate Institute of Management and Technology at Henley College (in Africa, working on the design and delivery of leadership and management development programmes for mining, construction and banking firms throughout Africa.
Maggie has held leadership roles in technical firms, gaining valuable practical experience in leading international projects and working with multi-cultural teams.
In 2010, Maggie joined Swansea University to help develop and deliver the successful LEAD Wales project – a leadership programme for the owners and managers of SMEs in Wales. Before retiring at the end of 2017, Maggie worked on a project with Chwarae Teg, helping SMEs throughout Wales with their Equality, Diversity and Business Planning for growth.
Rob is a Non-executive Director of Down to Earth Construction. He studied Theology at Exeter university and later qualified as a lawyer specialising in commercial property. After training at Eversheds in Cardiff, Rob spent 10 years with DJM Solicitors and is now a partner with Hutchinson Thomas Solicitors.
Rob part-owns Crossfit Swansea and loves helping people to become fitter, stronger & happier. In his spare time you can find him on the beach in Mumbles with his family.
Anna is a Non-Executive Director of Down to Earth Project and Treasury Manager at Valleys to Coast Housing Ltd in Bridgend and fully qualified CCAB accountant. Her background is housing sector, where she has worked for the last 28 years and specialises in development scheme appraisal.
She lives near Swansea with her husband and 2 hairy ugly babies (dogs), Mollie & Winnie.
