Lisa Watson (Chair) worked for the National Trust at Stowe Landscape Gardens for 17 years, starting as a volunteer and then becoming Estate Secretary until she retired in 2009. She joined LPG as an administrative volunteer in the same year, was Company Secretary from 2010 to 2014, and Treasurer from 2012 to 2020. She is also Treasurer and Trustee of The Gardens Trust.
Caroline Ames joined the Activities Working Group in 2017 and was elected a Trustee the following year. Passionate about plants and gardens, she was drawn to the charity’s mission to preserve, enhance and re-create London’s green spaces for the education and enjoyment of all. The seeds of Caroline’s garden enthusiasm were sown when she worked as a guide at Crathes Castle and its glorious gardens prior to going to University. Living and working in London enabled her to explore and enjoy its many parks and gardens.
Caroline had a successful career in horse-racing administration before establishing a property consultancy with her husband. She is a keen amateur photographer, especially of plants and gardens. She is delighted to combine her business and Committee experience in her work for the Trust.
Natasha Dos Passos (Treasurer) is a finance professional with 20 years’ experience in organisations ranging from domestic start-ups to multinational corporations. Working in commercial finance roles that support business strategy to boards in diverse sectors including media, technology and the NHS. She has a particular interest in sustainability, specifically environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG). A lover of walks and a frequent visitor to London’s parks, in her spare time she practises Qi Gong.
Celia Mead is a senior manager and marketeer with 28 years’ experience in the charity and cultural sectors. Her core skills are strategic management, marketing and business development, including fundraising and membership development. Her current clients range from the National Trust to museums, social enterprise and a medical research charity. She is also on the Board of Bath Festivals, the Bath Preservation Trust and Wells Cathedral Council.
Maureen Nolan FCIS (Secretary) is a Chartered Governance Professional with over 30 years’ experience in governance and company secretarial work. She has worked for a wide range of organisations in the public, private and charitable sectors including Transport for London, ICSA and Age Concern England. She has been Board Secretary of LPG since 2013 and was appointed as a Trustee in 2014. She is also a Trustee and Secretary of The Brunel Museum and The Gardens Trust, and Company Secretary & Administrator of the Gas Safe Charity.
Nathan Oley is a public affairs and communications professional with a passion for the way that parks and community gardens can build healthier communities. He developed a love for historic gardens as a teenage volunteer at Castle Bromwich Hall gardens (Birmingham) and recently helped to transform a wasteland into the thriving Approach community garden in Bethnal Green. Nathan joined the Board in 2018, excited to marry long experience of influencing policy makers at a borough, London and national level with the chance to protect and promote our rich tradition of access to excellent green space for all. He has served on boards and panels in numerous boroughs, and alongside running external relations for the Police’s professional body, he tends a small allotment and numerous window boxes in the East End.
Sally Prothero is a Landscape Architect and Director of LDA Design. She has been involved in the restoration of many historic parks and landscapes in the last ten years, including Derby Arboretum and several London parks. She was responsible for the £12 million restoration of Victoria Park, completed in 2012. She was elected to the LPG Board in 2013.
Peter Sibley has a Diploma in the Conservation of Parks, Gardens and Landscapes. He worked in the Parks Services of three London local authorities, and as a freelance environmental consultant. He was a founder member of the LPG and was on the Board from 1994 to 2018, re-joining the Board in 2019. He has written a guide to the sustainable management of green spaces, a book on building wildlife ponds and ran a research project into the value of London squares for wildlife for the RSPB. He is a Green Flag judge. In his spare time, he runs foraging courses, is an amateur silversmith and practises jodo.
Tim Webb is an editor and writer, enjoying a long association with open spaces from the farms he worked on in Herefordshire as a boy and leisure time spent on the Malvern Hills, Lake District and Pembrokeshire coast. Professionally, Tim worked his way around a variety of radio station newsrooms across the Midlands and south east England; ultimately broadcasting with ITN and the BBC. He then moved into PR, representing charities like the Wildlife Trusts, the RSPB and the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens. He has contributed to a number of publications, including Time Out and gardening magazines.
