Our Team
Louise Coles
The Strategist
CEO of Creative Youth Charity, Louise’s career spans many years at executive level developing organisations through new periods of growth. Lou is a dab hand at leading, strategic development and fundraising. She is passionate about enabling younger generations to have a voice in the local community and world at large. An Aussie at heart, Lou’s key focus is ocean conservation, engaging our local community to care for our beautiful blue space.
Celine Shabbas Murphy
The Communicator
Founder of four established corporate enterprises, Celine joined us to evaluate our brand, evolve and refine our story to the world at large. Celine brings a wealth of commercial board level experience to ensure our community keeps thriving. She feels passionately about the natural world and working together to ensure our planet prospers for future generations. An enthusiastic beekeeper, fanatical about collaboration and team work to enhance pollinator health.
Lisa Craik
The PM
Lisa is a natural project manager with experience across the public and logistics sector. She heads up ‘Friends of Brooklands’ community group, responsible for regeneration of the park and home to our teaching apiary. Lisa brings project focus, coordination, and organisation to the team. All successfully demonstrated on the development of a ‘Bees&Seas’ pollination hub for the local community. Lisa’s main passion is creating a positive environmental culture in the town.
Liz Upton
The Queen Bee
Liz oversees the management of our apiary’s, hosting sites, beekeepers, and hives. Starting as a volunteer, Liz now has 5 years’ experience, and continues to expand her knowledge. Liz maintains and manages our honeybee colonies and has an instinctive talent when dealing with ongoing complexities within our hives. A full time Clinical Nurse for the Sussex Community Foundation, Liz is a natural caretaker and provides training and mentorship for all junior beekeepers. A natural ‘Bee Inspector’ of the future.
Our Volunteers
The Beekeepers
We are incredibly grateful to work with 16 dedicated volunteer beekeepers who maintain, and care for our growing colonies. All husband-and-wife teams started back in 2018, and many manage their own personal hives. Liz and Tim oversee all apiaries. Chris and Claire, Neils and Anna work across Worthing and hosting sites. Violet and Ian conduct bee husbandry with Louise, Celine and Paula, at our Worthing apiary. Lisa, Francoise, Tasha and Poppy all carry out inspections at our Brooklands site.
Tony Bennet
The Advisor
Our resident senior advisor, Tony, is an incredible source of knowledge having worked as an apiarist for over 20 years. Tony supported the initial set up of the Worthing Honey Collective in 2018. Beehives require continuous management and good stewardship, which take both time and knowledge, and Tony brings experience, skill and mentoring to the beekeeping collective. He is a gifted local artist and regularly exhibits his work across Sussex and London.
Fran Southgate
Environmental Alchemist
Fran is passionate about the planet and our relationship with nature. A Wilder Landscapes advisor for the Sussex Wildlife Trust; if you want wilding and ecological networks then she’s your woman. Fran believes in individual and community empowerment through connection with the land. She finds most joy when she can visibly see the natural world responding to the nature restoration. Fran mentors our team on re-wilding, pollinator forage, and green conservation.
Stacey Manser-Knight
The Seaweedmeister
Our resident phycologist. An artist, maker, chef, alchemist and activist. Stacey brings a wealth of ideas and commercial nous to the table. She is passionate about education and connection through food and foraging – coordinating wild food adventures at the beach and gathering groups around a fire. Stacey loves nothing better than being creative, mooching about on the seashore and foraging the countryside. Stacy runs sea themed workshops, events, talks and seaweed safaris for the Pioneers.
Meet our growing team of Pollinator Pioneers
