Claire is based in Waltham Forest. She has been a Ranger since 2021. Claire’s focus is running the Friends of Pimp Hall Park & Nature Reserve in Chingford. By day she also works for Walk the Loop, a children’s charity based at the nature reserve.
Q1
what inspired you to become a ranger?
Before becoming a Ranger, I had been volunteering regularly in my local park. While I loved being outdoors and giving back to the environment, I began to wonder whether my efforts were truly making a difference. Was I helping nature in a meaningful way? Were my actions inspiring others to care more deeply about the green spaces around them? When I discovered the Ranger programme something clicked. Here was an opportunity to be part of something bigger, a collective movement dedicated to making life better for both people and nature across the city.
Joining the Ranger programme helped answer all those questions I’d been carrying. Yes, the work I was doing mattered. Yes, creating opportunities for families to connect with nature was worth it. And yes, every small action contributes to a larger, impactful change. Becoming a Ranger has shown me that when we come together with a shared purpose, we can truly reimagine what a greener, healthier, and wilder city can look like.
Q2
How are you making London greener, healthier, and wilder?
I’ve been able to draw on my environmental background to found the Friends of Pimp Hall Park & Nature Reserve – a group that has grown into something truly special. What began as a small idea to improve the park for my children has resulted in a community group celebrating its 10 year anniversary. Over the past decade, we’ve hosted community events, restored ponds, revived traditional conservation practices like coppicing and hedge laying, and created wildflower meadows.
Q3
What do you think has the single most positive impact of the environmental initiatives you’ve been part of?
Being part of a group where there is a shared sense of purpose and spending time outdoors in nature has helped me through some challenging moments while tackling depression and anxiety. Having a meaningful way to connect with nature and to others has been a lifeline for me. I hope that others have found this to be the case too, and that it’s been a way for them to connect to nature in a meaningful way. I can definitely see how collectively everyone’s hard work has helped increase biodiversity in the reserve. We’ve seen the return of species like; the bee orchid, hedgehogs, increasing numbers of grass snakes and even the wasp spider. Signs that nature is beginning to thrive again, even in our little corner of Chingford.
Q4
What have you gained from being part of the LNPC Community?
It’s been brilliant to connect and meet other Rangers locally and from across London. I’m continually in awe of what other Rangers are achieving. It’s been inspiring to learn from their journeys.
Q5
Describe your proudest moment as a ranger
I am grateful to have been able to support other Rangers with their projects, like the fungi-inspired ‘Shroom Sunday’, which is held at Pimp Hall Nature Reserve. It’s wonderful to see what can be achieved when we combine our skills and talents.
Q6
Describe your most challenging moment as a Ranger and how you overcame it
When I found out I was pregnant again I had been a Ranger for a little over a year, I worried that I would have to give it up. But the LNPC team were really encouraging and I continued volunteering throughout my pregnancy, then with a newborn in tow, and now as a parent to a curious toddler. It hasn’t always been easy, but it’s been deeply rewarding. It’s been a wonderful opportunity to be able to connect my youngest to nature right from the start.
Q7
What’s next for you as a ranger?
Now that my children are getting older and I may get a little more free time I’m hoping to focus on developing a school nature programme for the park and reserve. Along with more nature recovery focused projects, putting species-specific action plans in place for hedgehogs and bats.
Q8
What continues to motivate you on your Ranger journey?
The little conversations I get to have with people as I volunteer always motivate me, it’s great to be able to explain why I might be litter picking or planting etc and then I try and encourage others to join in or think a bit more about what they would like to see happening. I always wear the LNPC t-shirt that I was given when I first started as a Ranger, and this starts conversations about LNPC which is great too.
Q9
What has been your most memorable encounter with nature in London?
There have been many but one in particular was when walking with my daughter, who was four at the time, she spotted a male stag beetle on the pavement. It was beautiful and the first time for us both to see one so close. We picked it up carefully and put it safely on the verge nearby. Seeing her fascination with it and her excitement for discovering it, was lovely.
Q10
How can we encourage more people to ‘Do London Differently’?
LNPC would have brought together even more people, from all backgrounds, to feel empowered and able to do things like host their own walks, wildlife days, creative workshops, or just have more conversations about how nature isn’t something far away; it’s right on their doorstep. I would love to see a London with more beaver and vole introductions, cleaner rivers, less litter, more community involvement in day-to-day nature recovery! Maybe even the first LNPC Nature Reserve!
Q11
It’s 2029…as a community, what do you hope LNPC would have achieved by our 10th anniversary? And what might London look like as a result?
I hope we’ve helped stitch together community in a time of division – countering fragmentation with deep, local connection. As the political tide shifts rightward and climate goals are struck off the to-do list, our role becomes ever more vital. Grow what we can, compost what we need and nurture spaces of solidarity. I hope we keep showing up.
Learn more about the work that Claire is doing at @rangerceecee.bsky.social and www.pimphallpark.com
Read more Ranger Stories here.
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Together, we can make London greener, healthier, and wilder..
