about us
Jeffrey Gale (Director)
Dip, Arch, Grad. P.C. Assoc. (UK) M.T.C.P.A.
Jeffrey, our Designer, trained originally in architecture and did a thesis design for re-housing community with 2 and 3 storey homes in clusters around productive gardens with orchard trees, free from vehicles, with carparks kept to outer edges of development; a primary school, shops and pub were included in the green environment.
Jeffrey has a holistic, Permacultural approach to all our eco-architecture and gardens Projects. He is the founder of the World Peace Gardens Network (worldpeacegardensnet.org); Speaker and Organiser of the Wessex Research Group, Totnes; active member of Totnes Transition Town Organisation; Member of the Town & Country Planning Association, Designer-Member of Permaculture Association (Britain).
Sophie Christopher-Bowes (Director)
Dip, RETA, AM PC.ASS.UK, AM. T.C.P.A, CITY&GUILDS CERT ED.
Sophie is a sustainable planner and Permaculture designer at EAP. She is passionate about creating places that are liveable, healthy for all including the environment and people. She gained practicable experience as a councillor in Worcestershire and currently works as a Ecological Planning Consultant and Permaculture Designer, including the integrated holistic planning which reduces CO2 emissions by radically strain on power stations, and the social and economical advantage of vastly reduced overheads costs in buildings.
Sophie motivation is to bring Sustainable Ecological Planning into main stream planning system and to continue working on designs and plan communities that are vibrant, healthy and safe, and which reflect respect for the local and the global environment and where individuals and enterprise interact with each other, just like nature in the in the mini me and big I agenda. She aims to work with communities, public bodies, private companies and other Social Enterprise Companies and the Voluntary Sector organisations to deliver projects and programmes that bring abut concurrent social economics and environmental benefits.
Current involvements include working with Transition Heathrow (Grow Heathrow) and an ancient apple orchard in Devon.
Sophie is an activist and Campaigner for Decent Homes for All, living within our limits, she passionately believes that we should not harm or cruel to animals.
A fully qualified Feng Shui Practitioner, Sophie is also conscious of the positioning of buildings interrelationship to each other, negative and positive energies from buildings. The movement and flow of energy in rooms, buildings surrounding.
Currently working on projects that address challenges in the area of food production, local food production, resource scarcity, water, and energy loss especially in buildings.
Sophie is a member of the TCPA and currently sits on the Planning Policy Council. She is also a member of the Oxford Building Record, The Abingdon Area Archaeological and Historical Society, Management Committee of the Permaculture Association (UK) Britain, and a Trustee of Lansbury House Trust Fund (which promotes research into the peaceful resolution of conflict). She has recently completed University of Oxford's Department of Continuing Education, Hilary Term: Course Town and Country Planning UK.
Martin Bowes (Director)
I trained as a Banker some 40 years ago and have enjoyed a career in financial services. I have recently qualified as a Permaculture Designer and care not only about economics but also about people and their environment and most importantly a sustainable future for us all.
I am passionate about EAPP, its principles and ethics and creating a sustainable environment(s) for all of us – emphasising family and community values and sustainable local economies.
I still work in financial services but now for a family company established in 1807 as a shipping line (Bibby Line) which set up Bibby Financial Services in the 1980’s. My current role is in Risk & Finance supporting the company as it grows globally. Past experiences mostly at Barclays include Senior Project Management (IT & Business), Developing Risk and Business Development systems, developing Business models around people and teams, Corporate Planning and Management Information, Business Development, Business Consultancy to name a few.
Interests and current involvements include the Abingdon Business Alliance to encourage sustainable Abingdon businesses, the Permaculture Association, Abingdon Hydro Electric power, and many of the EAP projects.
Thanks to the EAP Peckham Project I have reconnected with my school (Bradfield College) which has been involved in supporting Peckham youth through the Bradfield Peckham Boys Club for over 100 years and I am a keen supporter of the Fairbridge Trust, again developing Inner City Youth.
I enjoy productive gardening with my wife, Sophie and the outdoors.
Jane Ferguson (Associate)
Dip.HDI Holistic Design, Dip. HDI Col Th, I.A.C.B.P.T, P.A.S.I.A.C.T, C.I.B.T.A.C,
Dip. C.C.C.A.
www.holisticinteriors.co.uk
Jane is a Holistic Interior Consultant and Colour Management Therapist for Corporate and Domestic Properties, currently offering her Holistic Design Services from Pinewood Studios to actors, film crew and the on-site business park. Her background is a Holistic Therapist in the Spa industry for over 25 years.
Jane’s caring approach for improving people’s lives has led her to extend her principles into enhancing living and working environments. Holistic Interior Design is a totally different approach to Interior Design, it goes beyond aesthetics and is in keeping with modern trends and future needs in environmental design.
Her passion is to redress balance and create healthy uplifting environments, bringing vibrant energy and harmony into people’s lives from the interiors of their homes, offices and workplace right through to the core of their being. Jane works strongly with the use of Colour and Light for aesthetical and transformational purposes and then draws on the deeper knowledge of Colour Psychology to ensure the therapeutic properties of colour schemes are in harmony with the individuals that will be using them.
This is a customised service that is personalised to the client’s specific requirements. The basis of Jane’s work is identifying and eradicating any negative influences such as sick building syndrome, Geopathic Stress and Electromagnetic Radiation. This is followed by implementing positive changes such as the introduction of colour, light, natural elements and environmentally friendly materials to transform the dynamics in any property.
Jane is an International public speaker on ‘Colour and Light – Food 4 the soul’ and ‘Healing Your Home’ and is a member of The Holistic Design Institute, Member of The Art and Science International Academy of Colour Technology and member of The Holistic Insurance services.
Lewis Eldridge (Associate)
BSocSC (Hons), MA (Urban Design) MSc (Urban Econonmic Development)
Lewis is a development planner and urban designer with over 11 years experience in urban design and conservation consultancy. After reading International Studies at the University of Birmingham, he worked with Richard Coleman to set up and develop The Richard Coleman Consultancy, from the late 1990s. He worked initially as a researcher there but became increasingly involved in working with clients on a variety of design and planning issues. He has since received Masters Degrees in Urban Design from the University of Westminster, and in Development & Planning Urban Economic Development from the Bartlett University College London.
Lewis has advised clients and stakeholders on the significance of historic buildings and conservation areas and other heritage issues and has contributed to Environmental Impact Assessment related to new development in the historic environment. He has many years experience in research, report writing and advocacy on behalf of clients in the planning process.
In the UK and Ghana and Uganda Lewis has worked on assessing the sustainability of public policy and development projects for local communities and also has interests in effects of globalisation on spatial inequality in cities and social inclusion through design. Lewis has been a member of the London Borough of Haringey's Design Review Panel since 2006 and is a co-founder of the urban seminar group Urban Mutations.
Shahana Dastidar (Associate)
BArch (Hons), MSc (Development Administration & Planning
Shahana is an architecture and development planner working on built environment projects with a focus on community empowerment and participation. She has worked on detailed conservation management plans for forts in North India including architectural documentation on site, archival research, community consultations and designing for adaptive reuse.
Shahana has also worked in the field as a volunteer for post Tsunami Reconstruction including projects for resource-mapping, participatory housing design, a Mason- training & livelihoods program and site supervision for housing Reconstruction in affected villages. She has also provided editorial assiatance for web & print publications on sustainable buildings materials and technologies.
Shahana has a Masters Degree in development Administration and Planning from The Barlett, University College London. Her diverse and varied work has involved working with government bodies, private consultancies, charitable organisations, community groups and academics. She has been involved in research on a wide range of topics including built heritage conservation, regeneration of inner-city historic cores, poverty reduction and infrastructure development in Uganda, and post-disaster urban planning in Istanbul. More recently she has worked on a development planning report in rural Ghana with the Friends of Ashanti network.