Wild side
Stephanie Fudge, the new marketing and business development manager for The National Gardens Scheme, has a garden that is very much on the wild side.
She and her ecologist husband, Mike, have developed their ¼ acre site near Guildford as a wild life sanctuary with “piles of logs, compost heaps and other features designed to attract animals, birds and insects”.
The National Gardens Scheme opens more than 3,700 private gardens each year in England and Wales for charity and has raised over £26 million in the last 10 years. NGS is Macmillan Cancer Support’s biggest ever donor and has given them more than £13 m in total.
Stephanie has a long and successful track record in creating major eco visitor attractions. Most recently she was general manager of the London Wetlands Centre. Over ten years she helped develop from four derelict Thames Water reservoirs to become an award winning location with more than a quarter of a million visits a year. She also generated significant corporate support for centre projects.
“The NGS has great inspirational gardens,” says Stephanie “that range in size from tiny back yards and allotments to formal parklands. My dual objectives are to expand corporate support for the NGS and extend the reach of the organisation to as wide an audience as possible.
“In total we have 7124 open days planned for 2011. A trip to a local NGS garden is an enjoyable experience for visitors, friends and family with an average admission charge of just £3 and most allowing under 16s in for free. It also directly benefits charity. The majority of gardens also provide that all important tea and homemade cake experience for which the NGS is justly famous.”
Tel 01483 231900.
cmorley@ngs.org.uk
www.ngs.org.uk