People
Ian & Liz O’Halloran
The vision for the gardens has been driven by Ian who is responsible for the design and a majority of the hard graft. His partner in the venture is his wife Liz (that’s me!) who shares in the work and the vision, and serves as a sounding board for the design, keeping Ian going when it all seems too overwhelming.
For a long time it was just the two of us, with occasional gratefully received help from friends. Other people have come and gone over the years. Nearly all have left their mark one way or another. I’d like to introduce you to a few of them below.
Our Current Team
Charlotte
Charlotte joined us as a trainee gardener in 2006 following a visit to the gardens when she saw us advertising for help in our newsletter. Over the years she has become a very skilled horticulturalist and an invaluable member of the team, as well as a good friend.
Charlotte is also a fellow Printmaker with a keen interest in wildlife and the natural world.
Melissa
Melissa has been helping out in the gardens since she was old enough to press into service! Her chosen activity for her 21st birthday was to plant 21 trees and she has continued planting them ever since. (We always have more room for trees.) She has now taken on the role of Trainee Gardener and is proving a real asset to the project. Melissa has a keen interest in wildlife and in her spare time she volunteers with the East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS).
Dylan
Dylan provides labouring support to the gardens doing most of the heavy lifting jobs (of which there are many) as well as other maintenance work as required. He loves working outside and is particularly keen on working with wood, sawing and storing firewood for example.
Dylan also volunteers with The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) and is currently involved in their Green Gym at Wealden Crematorium.
Some of our helpers through the years
Sarah
Sarah is an old friend who we first met when she attended one of our courses. During a conversation with her she let slip that she did jobbing gardening and the rest, as they say, is history. Sarah worked with us in the gardens on and off for four and a half years until other projects closer to her new home beckoned.
Gemma
Gemma is a yoga teacher and cat enthusiast who also turned out to have a real aptitude for gardening, despite telling us otherwise! She volunteered here for a number of months during the pandemic, working hard and entertaining us with stories of her cats.
Nicky
Nicky was our star volunteer. She worked here for two and a half years and really felt like a member of the family. When she left I asked if she would mind writing something about her time here for the website and the following is what she wrote:
“When I first came to Merryweathers I was at a pretty low ebb. My job had ended due to work-related anxiety. My confidence was shot and I had been diagnosed with depression. My GP referred me for CBT and whilst on the waiting list, I was sent various ‘self-help’ leaflets. The advice these gave was to keep busy and voluntary work was suggested. Before getting paid work, I had volunteered for several conservation organisations over many years, nearly always as part of a work party with lots of other people. Whilst I really enjoyed the physical, outdoors work, I didn’t feel confident enough at the time to get involved in this type of set up, so I started looking around for an alternative. I came across the Merryweathers website as a link from another website and eventually plucked up the courage to send an email.
“When I came to meet Liz & Ian and look around the garden, the first thing that struck me was how peaceful it was. Liz & Ian were very welcoming and the opportunity to work as part of such a small team was a definite draw. It felt like being welcomed into a small family unit.
“Having worked on mainly large, public spaces, I also liked the idea of something a little more intricate and, being a keen, but very much amateur gardener, I looked forward to learning some new skills.
“I have been here a relatively short time but I have learned an awful lot and being trusted to just muck in has provided a huge confidence boost, although I still haven’t grasped what can and can’t go in the compost heap and it is always a huge relief when things I have planted actually grow!
“It has also been wonderful to see the garden change through the seasons - one of the first jobs we did when I started work was to plant out primrose plugs in the Nuttery. These are now strong, thriving plants and provide a beautiful display each spring.
“I am now setting up a smallholding of my own and I will definitely be employing many of the things I have learned here, as well as Liz & Ian’s general ethos.
“Working at Merryweathers has been a privilege and a pleasure and I shall always remember my time here.”
“I HAVE A SECRET HAVEN
I GO TO IN MY MIND
A GARDEN FULL OF BIRDSONG
WHERE THE WORLD IS LEFT BEHIND”
Malcolm
Malcolm joined us in 2003 and volunteered here on Fridays for 7 years. He cycled here and back every week the 7 or more miles from his home in Hailsham and only took a break each year for the least hospitable months of December & January. (We told the kids that Malcolm lived in the old caravan by the nursery and it was some years before they realised this came under the heading “Great lies to tell small kids”!)
Chris
Chris also cycled in from Hailsham, usually bringing with him a rucksack full of fruit which sustained him - and our hens, who got the melon peel - throughout the day. He was great fun to have around and not as scary as he tried to look in this photograph!
Colin
Colin was our second placement via the Disability Employment Scheme and was with us for around a year in the very early days of the gardens. Despite only having the use of one arm Colin said the only thing he hadn’t been able to master was buttoning up his right-hand shirtsleeve cuff - hardly an essential skill for a gardener. Well, not here at least!