I came to Maldon after growing up in Kenya.  With plentiful access to big skies and abundant wildlife its no surprise that the environment has played a huge part in my life.  All my working life has been connected to nature, the environment or youth and I am thrilled that my local community now has  a group where like minded people can share and learn as well as make a positive difference.  

When I heard the Heybridge and Maldon Climate Action Partnership was being formed, I was keen to become involved, not only to make sure I was doing all I can to help protect our local environment but to learn what other actions and initiatives can be done to make a real difference.

Growing up in Australia, where nature abounds and there were vast open spaces to explore, gave me a love for the environment and an absolute fascination with nature.

In recent years I have become increasingly concerned about the impact climate change is having on our precious planet and the lack of action being taken by governments, around the world, to address the problem concerns me.

A resident of the Maldon district for the past 22 years I know we live in a beautiful part of the country. We have open fields, woodlands, salt flats, canals and rivers all within reach and these provide habitats to a wealth of wildlife which needs to be protected. 

Climate change is the greatest threat facing our future, and these concerns have placed sustainability matters at the forefront of my educational, volunteering, and employment decisions since my early teens. I hold a BSc in Biological Sciences and a MSc in Sustainability, and have relevant work experience in forest and wildlife conservation, outdoor education, the energy sector, and academic research. 

I moved to Maldon in March 2022, one week before the birth of my daughter. Having spent much of my maternity leave exploring the town and surrounding green spaces, I already love living in Maldon, and currently participate as volunteer for a community reusable nappy scheme. However, despite the important contribution residents can make in limiting their individual carbon footprints, this will be insufficient to make the carbon reductions necessary to restrict catastrophic levels of climate change and destruction of wildlife and the environment.  By volunteering as Secretary to the HMCAP, I aspire to raise awareness of climate change and sustainability issues, and to inspire the public to use the democratic system to engage with local and national politics in order to demand the structural and strategic change necessary to address the climate crisis.  

A life-long birdwatcher, I moved to Maldon with my family over twenty years ago and quickly realised that appreciating the local wildlife was a perfect antidote to my day job in the car industry! I now work part time as a consultant for companies engaged in sustainable technologies.

I recently completed writing and publishing my first book “Wildlife of Maldon” to spread awareness of the nature on our doorstep and am now focused on doing what I can to help protect our special habitats and the biodiversity they support. 

Hi, I am Nikki Swindle and a late comer to the whole being green thing.

For a few years I have been a big fan of reduce, re-use and recycle which has left me with a room full of fabrics and other odds and ends, that will always come in handy.

More recently I have become aware of the amount of energy we are using, creating unnecessary CO2, and so we have had solar panels installed along with battery storage, and now we are running our car and house just using the sun, saving us money and more importantly saving our beautiful planet.