The Basics
Name Jim Elliott
Job title Senior Consultant
Practice area Agriculture and Landscapes
Lives Chippenham
Qualifications MSc Sustainability Science and Policy, Maastricht University; BA(Hons) Combined Arts (History, Politics and Philosophy), Durham University
Welcome to 3Keel! How have your first weeks been?
I’ve been enjoying meeting the team and learning about the brilliant projects they’re all working on. Everyone has been so welcoming and friendly, it hasn’t really felt like staring a new job at all.
What have you started working on?
It’s been quite varied in the first couple of weeks. Of course, there’s been induction sessions to get up to speed on how things work at 3Keel, but I’ve also joined a few client meetings, been working on proposals for new work, and started on a project integrating green commerce in new Protected Sites Strategies.
What are you looking forward to most about working for 3Keel?
I worked on environmental policy for eight years before joining 3Keel. I absolutely loved it, but I’m really looking forward to working on projects that have a more direct and tangible impact on landscapes and wildlife. The team also seems great, so no doubt there’ll be a few laughs along the way too.
Who or what inspired you to work in sustainability?
I think my passion for sustainability started at a very young age. I remember seeing hedgerows disappear around my family’s home in north Herefordshire in the 1990s and feeling even then that it didn’t seem right. A few years later we visited the Centre for Alternative Technology and I was just fascinated to see how they had transformed a barren slate quarry into what appeared to me to be a self-sustaining paradise – I spent the next few years unsuccessfully lobbying my mum and dad to build a compost toilet at our house! At high school I got involved with eco-schools, which opened up amazing opportunities to present and share experiences with other schools and even with local and national policy makers (thanks to the tireless efforts of our teacher Jane Denny).
When you’re not working, what do you like to do?
Playing and going on adventures with my young children is the favourite pastime at the moment. Occasionally I also manage to get them to help me with DIY projects around the house and trying to establish a no-dig allotment. One day we’ll get round to restoring our VW T25 campervan for more adventures.