What is PeCAN?
Petersfield Climate Action Network is an environmental charity run by local residents in Petersfield, Hampshire.
Our mission is to help Petersfield and surrounding village communities reduce their carbon emissions and protect nature. We do this by running projects and activities with local people and organisations to help make the changes to our buildings, transport, natural environment, understanding and behaviour that our community needs in order to live sustainably. Our vision is for the Petersfield area to become carbon neutral as quickly as possible, given the IPCC's recommendation for carbon emissions to halve by 2030 from 2019 levels.
PeCAN’s charitable objects are: The advancement of environmental protection, education and community development relating to climate change and biodiversity loss for the benefit of residents and the general public in and around the Petersfield area. We were registered as a CIO (Charitable Incorporated Organisation) in December 2020, charity number 1192778.
PeCAN's Annual Report and Accounts 2024
PeCAN's Annual Report and Accounts 2023
PeCAN's Annual Report and Accounts 2022
Policy on campaigning and advocacy
Who is involved?
PeCAN is a community-based network of local volunteers and staff. We grew out of a couple of public meetings in early 2020 - just before the lockdown - and now have a following of more than 1,100 supporters. We are not party political and are not a campaigning organisation. We have ten trustees, three part-time members of staff and several active volunteers, and we are always looking for more!
PeCAN's staff positions and running costs have so far been funded with support from the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme via the National Energy Foundation, the South Downs National Park Authority, East Hampshire District Council, Petersfield Town Council, and donations from members of the public. For further details of our funding, please see the annual report.
What sort of projects does PeCAN do?
PeCAN aims to do projects that will make a difference. So far, we have been running a home retrofit advice service, free thermal imaging surveys in winter, toy and present swaps, an annual tree planting programme, a schools outreach programme, we organised Petersfield's Eco-Fair in collaboration with the Town Council and we host the town's weekly eco-cafe. We are working with Local Government on their climate policies and strategies, commenting on planning applications, organising public talks, guided walks, meeting people on market stalls and festivals ... anything that we think will help to reduce emissions and protect nature. There's a lot more we'd like to do - perhaps with your help?
How can I get involved?
Send us an email! We would love to hear from you, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved or to start your own project. The more of us there are, the more we can achieve.
You can also sign up for our monthly newsletter on the Contact Us page and keep an eye on our vacancies page.
Staff
Patricia Exley, Team Leader
Patricia joined PeCAN initially to support the Superhomes project. She brings a wealth of experience from her previous roles in BT and Citizens Advice, and is keen to support local people to reduce their impact on the planet. Patricia has lived in Petersfield for over 25 years, is married with 2 adult children. When not at work she enjoys playing violin in several local orchestras and walking on the South Downs Way.
Imogen Oxley, Marketing & Communications Manager
Imogen joined the PeCAN team to build engagement and share information with Petersfield residents and the wider community. She brings experience of working with environmental publishing teams and setting up a green charity in Alresford. Imogen has a passion for our environment and this inspires her to keep fighting for progress. Other interests include writing, reading, travel, art and pub walks.
Anna Pearce, Project Manager
Anna joined PeCAN to help deliver and grow our community projects. She brings wide-ranging experience from her career in the charity sector, working with both large national charities and small grassroots organisations in volunteer management, programme delivery and fundraising. When not working, Anna enjoys dabbling in a bit of gardening, woodland walks, bike rides and wild swimming.
Trustees and Supporters
Louise Bevan, Deputy Chair
After careers working abroad for United Nations agencies, my husband and I returned to Petersfield in 2012 reconnecting with our roots and families. When my horrified granddaughter said: “Granny, that’s single-use plastic!”, I decided to become more informed about environmental and climate issues and what we can do as individuals. This started us on a journey which led to the installation of our Air Source Heat Pump, a green and sustainable way of heating our home. By working together in PeCAN, and in partnership with others, we can raise awareness in our local community and take action to reduce carbon emissions and protect the planet for our grandchildren.
Liz Bisset, Trustee
Liz tries to live by the maxim of "be the change you want to see" and thinks that we all have a responsibility to cut our carbon emissions to halt global warming. She believes that PeCAN can work with other community organisations, local authorities and national government to help individuals make the necessary changes to their lifestyles which will reduce their carbon emissions.
Peter Carver, Trustee and Treasurer
Peter is a qualified accountant who has worked in private practice and the waste management and logistics industries before moving to DEFRA where he worked for the Environment Agency and, until his retirement this year, for the Rural Payments Agency. He has just moved with his wife to Petersfield where one of his three grown children lives. Throughout his career adopting a sustainable lifestyle and being conscious of our impact on the natural world has been of key importance. He looks forward to contributing his experience to PeCAN in working with local communities to improve the environment in the Petersfield area.
Greg Ford, Chair of Trustees
Greg is an advisor at the NGOs Finance Watch and Positive Money Europe, where he works on climate finance policy and on advocacy for a more environmentally and socially sustainable economy. He believes that tackling the urgent climate and biodiversity crises requires both government leadership and local action. He previously worked as a financial journalist. He lives in the village of Buriton with his wife and two children.
Andrew Lee, Trustee
Andrew spent the first ten years of his conservation career at the Sussex Wildlife Trust, the latter five as its CEO. During this time the Sussex Biological Records Centre was established and the 'Vision for the Wildlife of Sussex” launched. He went on to head the UK & European Programmes of WWF UK, supporting the first Rivers Trust. A regular spokesman in national media, he also led the WWF advocacy work with Ministers and civil servants. After a decade at the organisation, he left to become the first CEO of the Sustainable Development Commission, a government watchdog, thinktank and advisor. Andrew joined the South Downs National Park Authority as it went live in 2011 and led its strategy, nature recovery, climate and people work for 13 years until his retirement.
Gethin Morgan-Owen, Trustee
Gethin is a chartered engineer who until his retirement, contributed to developing electronic systems and products. He has lived in Petersfield for 40 years and likes to get around on a bicycle for local journeys because this is a pleasant and quick option. He would like to see action so that the Town’s residents can more readily include walking and cycling in their daily lives, as well as benefitting from improved connections to the neighbouring countryside and communities.
Peter Moss, Trustee
Peter is a successful business and technology leader, who left the large corporate world and has most recently been CEO of a Fintech start up. A keen adopter of low carbon technology for his own consumption (solar panels, battery pack, underfloor heating, air source heat pump, renewable energy supplier and an electric car), he is very keen to share his experiences with as many people as possible and encourage broader adoption. Peter has lived around Petersfield for more than 30 years; his son went to school in the town, and he is also a director of a Petersfield based business.
Melanie Oxley, Trustee for Nature Recovery
Melanie is an ecologist, botanist and lifelong environmental campaigner who has worked for a number of not-for-profit organisations, delivering campaigns including Planta Europa and The Peat Inquiry for Plantlife. She most recently worked for The Ecology Consultancy in London on ecology and species protection in the built environment. Now retired, she devotes her knowledge and experience to a range of local groups. Her work with PeCAN focuses on the biodiversity crisis and new approaches to green infrastructure. Melanie spear-headed PeCAN’s Verges Campaign and is part of the Tree Location initiative for PfS, which will complement PeCAN's fruit tree planting.
Paul Parkin, Staff Trustee
Prior to Paul's recent retirement, he first worked in the banking industry before taking the step to move into the European IT and Telecom sectors, where for the last 20 years he specialised in mergers and acquisitions focussed on the technology sides of those businesses. Paul is family orientated and his retirement was driven very much by the desire to spend time with his grandchildren, exploring nature and the outdoors and helping out with his wife’s Forest School business. Locally, Paul is a volunteer for the Western Sussex Rivers Trust, where he is a River Guardian, monitoring water quality and life along the river Rother.
Rachel Ritchie, Trustee for Education Outreach
Rachel is a UN-accredited Climate Change Teacher with ten years’ experience teaching about climate change both as a primary class teacher and as a visiting speaker to local primary and secondary schools and youth groups. She also gives talks to adults (including local environmental groups, students at Winchester University, and Parish Councils) about the urgency of the Climate Crisis and, importantly, to offer possible solutions. In spring 2022, Rachel started the Petersfield Eco Café to encourage community, conversations and climate action. Rachel lives in a village near Petersfield, where she gardens, looks after her granddaughter and relishes long walks in the South Downs.
Thanks to local photographers Russell Winston Ford, John Studd and Catriona Cockburn for supplying some of the beautiful photos on this site free of charge.