Amelia Gabriel, Programme Manager

Amelia is a geographer at heart and has previously worked and volunteered in the charity and education sectors, focussing on sustainable development, youth work, careers guidance and mentoring.  She is passionate about social mobility, climate justice and education about the climate crisis, so she is delighted to have joined the PeCAN team.  She lives locally with three young children and is a lover of maps, nature, hiking, trees, basketball, chatting and tea.

Patricia Exley, Project Officer, Petersfield Area Superhomes

Patricia has joined PeCAN 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 25 years, is married with 2 children.  When not at work she enjoys playing violin in several local orchestras and walking on the South Downs Way.

Ruth Scammell, Project Officer - Marketing and Communications

Ruth joined PeCAN to help boost the engagement and promote the charity in the local community. She spent 14 years working in journalism and is now using her skills and experience to raise awareness of climate change, with a primary focus on the Superhomes project. Ruth lives in Petersfield and has two young children. She enjoys baking cupcakes, watching football, travelling and live music.

Imogen Oxley, Project Officer - Marketing and Communications

Imogen joined the PeCAN team alongside Ruth, 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.

Tom Barnett, Trustee

Tom is a designer and 3d visualisation artist who has lived and worked in Petersfield for 12 years. His growing concerns about climate change led him to seek ways to take action locally. PeCAN with its non-partisan structure provided the opportunity he was looking for. He is now looking forward to helping Petersfield achieve real progress and positive change on it’s journey towards net-zero over the coming months and years.

Louise Bevan, Trustee for Fundraising

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.

Andrew Bulmer, Committee Member 

I come to the climate issue from a faith perspective. If God created the world and all that is in it, then surely I need to do something to preserve that creation! It is as simple as that. Friends in PeCAN are enabling me to find my place and role in achieving that for which I am grateful. My background has been focused on addressing poverty issues in South Asia, living in India and Nepal in my earlier life and working out of a London office mid-career and from my house latterly. Wherever I have been, Petersfield has always been ‘home’ to me.

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.

Vincent Edberg, Committee Member

Greg Ford, Chair of Trustees

Greg is an advisor at the NGOs Finance Watch, Positive Money Europe and the Climate Safe Lending Network, 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.

Gethin Morgan-Owen, Committee Member

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, Lead Trustee for Petersfield Area SuperHomes

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.

Russell Oppenheimer, Trustee

I live in Petersfield with my wife and three children. I have been working on decarbonising my home and lifestyle for about four years now. I am still working on it! Global warming can seem like an insurmountable challenge when we consider it as individuals. But when we work together, we can make huge strides towards Net Zero. Getting Petersfield to Net Zero is a big challenge and I believe PeCAN can inspire the town to do it by 2030. I have learned so much from my PeCAN colleagues, and I enjoy sharing what I have learned with others. We would love you to join us on our mission.

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.

Lynn Paterson, Committee Member

I joined PeCAN because I wanted to contribute to making Petersfield a greener and cleaner place in which to live and work. At first I wasn’t sure where I would fit in. I didn’t have much knowledge about 'green issues' and really wasn’t very sure about how I could help. However, I needn’t have worried. The strength of PeCAN lies in its supportive members who, together, have extensive knowledge and expertise in bringing about beneficial changes. We all have a stake in things such as clean air, saving energy, being healthy and valuing our surroundings. By working collaboratively, we do make a difference. By being involved, I am learning a lot and feel that I am doing something that is useful, rewarding and a lot of fun!

Rachel Ritchie, Committee Member

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.

Paul Turner, Committee Member

Paul is passionate about educating the local community about the climate and ecological crisis and equipping young people with the skills needed to tackle feelings of eco-anxiety. After winning an RGS award for excellence in teaching, Paul left his post as Head of Geography at Bedales school last year to focus full time on training teachers at the university level and developing climate teaching resources including the AimHi Climate and Nature course. He is an UN-accredited climate change teacher.

Matthew Warner, Trustee

Matthew joined PeCAN at the start of 2023 to develop a strategy to engage with local businesses on sustainability and emissions reduction practices. He is a commercial geoscientist by training with 14 years’ experience in the energy sector, having recently moved into Carbon Capture and Storage to develop new projects that serve hard-to-abate industrial sectors. Matthew is passionate about working with local businesses and aims to support them in making smarter, greener, and more sustainable choices. He lives in Petersfield with a young family, enjoys walking in the Southdowns and can often be found in his garden, rewilding and adding insect-friendly plants!