The Environment Trust and South West London Environment Network (SWLEN) have announced that they are going to merge to create a single, combined charity with the capacity and skills to achieve greater impact for natural and built heritage in south west London.
The decision builds on the strategic alliance announced in September 2019. It brings together SWLEN’s strong network of local environmental groups and Environment Trust’s operational capacity in natural and built heritage. The combined organisation will build on the work of both charities to collaborate effectively with local people and groups across organisational and local authority boundaries for the good of all communities.
Colin Cooper, CEO, SWLEN will head up the new charity. “By joining forces we can achieve so much more than the sum of our parts, we can increase our impact in protecting the natural and built environment, as well as heritage across SW London. As the environment has become fore front of people’s minds, we will encourage people to think globally and act locally in supporting community-led responses to environmental issues and heritage conservation.”
John Anderson, Chair of Trustees, Environment Trust said: “We are combining forces in response to the growing need as we see it. Our natural and built heritage is under threat from the impact of climate change, habitat destruction, commercial development and declining public sector budgets. The combined charity will work to put these at the heart of our community by engaging and empowering local people for the well-being of all.”
Simon Martin, Chair of Trustees, SWLEN said: “We believe that everyone in our diverse communities should have access to and be able to engage with the beautiful places in their neighbourhood. Everyone should feel connected to their environment, proud of where they live and empowered to play their part in looking after it.”
Trustees of both charities have a signed Heads of Agreement to merge. The combined charity will be re-launched in June and the two charities have started a consultation process to choose a new name that reflects its mission for local people, projects and communities in SW London.
The post of Chair of Trustees for the newly merged charity is now being advertised.
Check out https://www.environmenttrust.org/Pages/Category/jobs or https://swlen.org.uk for further details.
There will be no redundancies as a result of the merger and no changes to current projects or up-coming events. To find out more about the events calendar, book tickets, make a donation or get involved as a volunteer, visit www.environmenttrust.org and https://swlen.org.uk.
