Meet the trainees: Cohort three

With our traineeship at the #TriangleSite we are able to teach multiple cohorts sustainable design and building, heritage crafts and landscaping skills. Cohort three ran from September - December 2025. Meet the members.

---

Betsey

Tell us about yourself and why you wanted do this traineeship?

I am Betsey, I wanted to do this traineeship because having not quite found my feet in a set job, an opportunity like this would be so special, to understand a whole new field and wealth of knowledge.  I knew I liked nature, and the opportunity to learn and get insight into a whole new world that had nature involved  seemed like a great next step.

What was your connection to sustainable landscaping / gardening betore this?

My knowledge of both these things was minimal before the traineeship. But having worked with mass waste in quite different working cultures, I wanted to definitely be in a space that was more conscious of the world and less capitalistic. I wanted to be part of more of a conscious community.

What have you learned & what values have you developed?

So much. Too much to recall everything, but if I had to list five life altering skills:

1. POWER TOOLS!

2. Plant Identification and care

3. Permaculture design 

4. How community projects/ fashion the culture

5. Bengal Spice tea is beautiful

My consciousness towards caring for the planet has definitely shifted. My fellow trainee Famke will notice the smallest little bug for relocation and her delicate but intense care has been awoken in me now. I think I see things I previously would have never [noticed].

Isabel

Tell us about yourself and why you wanted do this traineeship?

I'm really interested in how we create alternative urban spaces that foster community and facilitate encounters with people and nature. I think it feels rare to get the chance to shape the spaces we use in a way that caters to your wants and needs. Public space very often feels quite rigid, but I think we can be more playful in how we shape it. To me, getting involved in the traineeship felt like an opportunity to explore the practices of this and experiment learning new skills on the build of the triangle site.

What was your connection to sustainable landscaping / gardening betore this?

I started getting involved in gardening very casually last year. I became super interested in food growing, but didn't really have the skills or knowledge to grow autonomously or without guidance. In terms of hard landscaping, I had pretty much zero experience. I'd read a fair bit about sustainable building and designing spaces that allowed for interaction with nature. But how to actually and physically create those spaces felt pretty alien.

What have you learned & what values have you developed?

These past few months have been a bit of a blur. They have gone quick and yet slow, and I've learned a lot, but also feel like it's opening a portal to a whole new world of knowledge and skill that I want to know even more about. I can garden now, pretty easily. We've propagated, taken cuttings, harvested, tended to plants, and even done flower arrangements. I've used loads of tools (an angle grinder, drill, impact driver, wet cutter, circular saw). We made brick planters. I love pointing. We planted a woodland and designed a brown roof. Values wise I think that permaculture is a bit embedded in my psyche now, reaffirming the values of fair share, earthcare, and people care, but also just having a go at new things, it is good enough for now and safe enough to try.

Kian

Tell us about yourself and why you wanted do this traineeship?

I wanted to do this traineeship because I love being outdoors and working with people who share my mindset. I’m passionate about building a place for the local community to come and learn, spend time with friends and family, and I wanted to learn more about hard landscaping and all the techniques involved.

What was your connection to sustainable landscaping / gardening betore this?

I’ve always had a passion for gardening. Over the past two years, I’ve been working at the Harington Scheme gardening team, where I’ve learned a lot about soft landscaping. I’m always happy to help my neighbours with anything if they need it, and I love seeing wildlife thrive.

What have you learned & what values have you developed?

During this traineeship, I’ve learned how to build planters and a green roof, which was incredibly fun. I particularly enjoy making the substrates for the roof. I’ve also learned how to work effectively as a team, even on the coldest days. Despite the cold, we always managed to keep a smile on our faces.

Famke

Tell us about yourself and why you wanted do this traineeship?

I am a community gardener and I have a passion for nature, restoration, and herbalism. I did environmental conservation in Wales and this is where my deeper journey into working with the land began. I love learning about folklore and spirituality, which I explore through art and photography. I wanted to become a trainee to have the space to learn and practice permaculture.  My dream is to restore nature and regenerate an environment which humans have depleted, and also to combat food insecurity and poverty.

What was your connection to sustainable landscaping / gardening betore this?

I have explored sustainable gardening with my grandma who grows food and I have been volunteering with community gardens in London and Wales and in work such as Coco Collective and Soil Sisters. But before this year, I had not deeply explored gardening.  My main experience has been in conservation work. Last year I worked with the North Wales Rivers Trust doing river restoration. There have been interesting parallels and differences between gardening and conservation, although they both align.

What have you learned & what values have you developed?

I have learned that you can really develop a reciprocal relationship with plants and that they have qualities that can heal you both spiritually and physically. A single plant could have roots that can be consumed, leaves that are super foods or flowers that are poisonous. I have learned there are so many intricacies in growing plants, such as the science behind soil, the way species interact, temperature, light, and even the words we speak can impact the chances/ ways plants grow. I have also felt empowered to build and create things I never knew I could. The values I carry with me now are endurance and perseverance and knowing that huge tasks may seem impossible, but in the end, you will make it. I also carry the value of holistic perspective

Notes from the Garden