Trevor Bowyer

We are sad to say farewell to Trevor Bowyer who has played such a valuable role in Holland Park for the Ecology Service, as one of their environmental education officers. Over many years, Trevor has helped local children to learn about the wonders of nature and you could see their delight as they ran about the Wildlife Enclosure area discovering frogs, spiders and other wee beasties. Often they went home to regale their parents and I can well remember a small child on a nature walk telling me earnestly what we would find under a stone, because he had learned about it on a school trip.

Trevor took a sabbatical this summer, to work with one of the teams in the Kensington Town Hall. At the end of the period, he was offered a long-term roll as an employee engagement officer, which he accepted. He says he will miss the park and we will miss him. We won’t be saying goodbye though, as he has been organizing visits to the park for groups of council employees, so that they are better acquainted with the many benefits the park has to offer. Thank you Trevor and see you in the park soon. 

Text and photo by Jennie Kettlewell

[November 2022]

Alice Laughton Joins to Head RBKC’s Ecology Service

Dr Alice Laughton brings a wealth of useful experience to Holland Park and the whole borough. Having started with a BSc in Zoology at the University of Edinburgh, she went on to gain a doctorate in Ecological Entomology (study of insects), during which she focused on the immune system of honey bees; that will be appreciated by our Holland Park bees. More academia followed, during which she studied how factors such as environmental temperature, ageing, nutrition and disease affect how animals develop their immune responses.

She became interested in the importance of communicating science in a way that engaged the public and she was Chief Scientist on a British Exploring Society expedition to the Amazon rainforest. I think we’d all like to hear more about that. 

In 2017, Alice joined The Royal Parks to lead a 5-year project, which combined public engagement with habitat monitoring and conservation works. She says: ‘It was a truly collaborative project that involved working with park managers, contractors, wildlife specialists, learning partners and Friends groups.’ She introduced conservation grazing to The Green Park and created wildflower meadows, while developing public community projects, with creative  interpretation to increase public awareness.

Alice’s experience and interests are good news for Holland Park as the RBKC Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) goes forward for approval. The BAP is a guide for how we will protect and support wildlife in the borough, and the resources needed to do this. It sits alongside the Green Plan and is interlinked with RBKC commitments to climate change and air quality. For the first time, the BAP will focus on the health and wellbeing benefits of access to nature. She is well aware of the increased pressure on our precious parks and the challenges of competing priorities for people and wildlife. The BAP, and associated Woodland Management Plan, will set ambitious targets for protecting, enhancing and expanding habitats for wildlife in Holland Park. That is very good news.

We look forward to getting to know Alice and seeing her get our long-awaited Woodland Management Plan up and running.

Jennie Kettlewell

[Spring 2022]