NFE’s Founder, Rachel Parsons, has been out and about meeting some of the New Forest’s most inspiring local legends… aka ‘Change-makers’…in today’s interview, Rachel met with Gill Perkins…
Inspirer of Bumblebee-love, CEO, walking ‘bee-cyclopedia’, walker, botanist, veg gardener, political lobbyist, energizer and a tour-de-force wonder-woman. Gill is one of those people who enthuses love for her subject. She is a total inspiration.
NFE partner with the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and some of our holiday-home owners, on our ongoing Pollinator Rescue + Conservation Project. With over 210 acres of gardens in and around the National Park, we have the opportunity to really build private gardens into mini nature reserves. Read more about how we support our owners here.
- Q. What is your day job now?
I’m the CEO of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust. We’re a UK charity with a fantastic 60+ team. Sometimes I call myself a circus ringmaster. I make sure that all the parts of the BBCT are exceptional; from fundraising to finance and everything in between is brilliant for bumblebees.
Q. 10 years as CEO is quite an achievement. Your energy and positivity is extraordinary.
My energy comes from making a difference. I’ve found my place in life. This job is everything I ever wanted a job to be. If you’re doing what you love, then surely it’s not a job. Every day, I’m making a difference. As a CEO I get to do what I love, I’m actually seeing change – which is so important to me.
- Q. What change do you want to see in the future?
- My big hairy goal is that every single person values nature. How do you make decisions about anything if you don’t value nature? For me that’s understanding how nature supports our lives in every way, shape and form. That means that people understand that their food comes from a place, with clean soil, pollinators to fertilise the plants so they bear food, that the plants have the right climate; the right temperatures, clean air, sun, and rain, to produce what we’re eating now. Right now I’m looking at wooden boxes. They don’t just happen. This paper in my hand, it’s grown trees to make it happen. The salad on those plates over there, it’s a real grown thing. I want people to understand how nature underpins our v existence. My less-huge hairy goal is is to put a bumblebee in everyone’s heart. If we all just understood one species, we’d have more empathy in our choices for nature. We protect what we love.
- Q. What annoys you?
Journalists. Recently the BBC did an article on bee keeper who they claimed was an expert and who was putting 100’s of beehives into areas which were already over ‘bee-hived’. The BBC hadn’t done their research. Even when it was pointed out to them by me and other bee keepers, that honey bees do not necessarily help biodiversity – they didn’t listen and focused on that message. In London, there isn’t enough food for honeybees let alone our wild bees. The BBC refused to allow another article in response. Picture editors are my second annoyance. Bumblebees don’t live in hives, don’t make honey and don’t create honeycombs. So many times I read an article about wild bees but illustrated by a honeybee or a hive or hexagon. We know from our audience insights work that 54% of adults don’t know the difference between a honeybee and bumblebee which is so unhelpful when you are trying to reverse the declines in our essential bumblebees. Pictures journalists get a lot of my hate mail! Why don’t they ring up some experts to ask. They aren’t aware of their power, nor that they are continuing a myth.
- Q. Can you give us one idea that would make a big difference?
Yes! I’d like a nature table back in every primary school. Bring back the Nature-Table! Developing a love and respect for nature can be started so easily with small children; a snail shell, a funny coloured pebble, a seed, anything that catches their eyes. And then 1 assembly a week to encourage kids to celebrate nature. I hope the natural science GCSE curriculum is coming in soon too.
- Q. How did you get here, in this place, in the world, today?
It was my father who inspired my love of nature. It was part of my life. I knew I wanted to work outside in nature. I took an ecology degree and then married a farmer. Quite soon my principles and business needs clashed and I saw the damage to nature. Integrated pest management wasn’t a thing then. Pesticides and insecticides were used a lot and without as much knowledge or care. It was just how it was. Farming has moved on a lot since then. After that I worked for the FSB seeking political change for a better environment for small businesses. It was my intro’ to managing business. We lobbied for policy improvement to MP’s. I did a 2nd degree, Business Studies. It was one of best things I’ve ever done. But at 50 I had an epiphany. I couldn’t get out of bed for politics, any more. I thought I just can’t cow-tow to politicians anymore. I took a sabbatical. I did reforestation in Borneo for 3 months and loved every second of it. The day I retuned, I handed in my notice. I saw an advertisement for the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, for a conservation manager. That job had my name on it. And tho’ I’m a botanist at heart, bees and flowers go together. I’m not a scientist, but they wanted help to build the Charity and make it flourish. It is absolutely the best job ever. Next year will be my sixth year as CEO.
- Q. How do you get downtime?
I relax with friends at my favourite café (Ciao Belli in Lymington) I spend a lot of time walking. Because I live by the sea, I head out on the Lymington sea wall path. The clear air and ever-changing views are glorious all through the year. It’s different each time. Boats, sky, people, birds, bees. I love that.
- Q. Give us a tune for your change-maker vibes. Something to inspire us.
- 1. Walking on Sunshine. Katrina and the waves.
- 2. Scheherazade. Rimsky Korsakov – This classic piece is so utterly beautiful.
- 3. Flight of the Bumblebee. Rimsky Korsakov – what else did you expect me to say!
To see how our relationship with Gill and The Bumblebee Conservation Trust has grown – click here.