Tir Pontypridd is a community-led initiative, borne from the passion of a handful of individuals who want to make Pontypridd a better place to live. Read on to learn more about the committee members who volunteer their time to run Tir Pontypridd.
Meet the committee
We welcome new committee members, so please get in touch if you are interested in volunteering your skills and developing Tir Pontypridd together.
Ken Moon
Chair
Studied Geography at University before going on to gain a diploma in Permaculture Design and Sustainable Land Use and running training courses in Sustainability & Permaculture in Cardiff.
He then become manager of Riverside Real Food Market for 3 securing funding to establish Riverside Community Garden. Ken later became a founding member of Community Energy Wales before joining Interlink as a Social Enterprise Support Coordinator, managing an RCT wide community energy project, and then as a Community Support Coordinator which included helping groups to secure and manage local assets that were facing closure.
It was in these roles that he came to recognise that if communities were going to realise their own visions for sustainability, then they would need to control what happened to the buildings & landscape around them.
Ken currently works as Sustainability Futures Coordinator for the Office of Heledd Fychan MS and as a mentor for DTA Wales & Interlink. Ken has chaired several organisations and partnerships including the RCT Environment Partnership and the Valleys of Sanctuary. As well as being Chair of the Pontypridd Land Society he is also chair of RCT Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
Louise Karabulut
Secretary
Has been teaching English to international students since 2000 and has also taught in London, Istanbul, and Wales & also online to China.
After several years overseas, She happily returned to USW. Her skills include teaching languages such as English for various academic purposes, speaks Turkish, reads French & has a foundation in Welsh. She supported an İstanbul geophysics team by editing and translating seismological research for publication and facilitating international trade of equipment and set up her own limited company for a brief but insightful period. She is well versed in a range of IT platforms.
Her work in the community includes 5 seasons as youth worker at Carnival Club preparing the youth group for Notting Hill carnival and performing and teaching and supporting refugees in the local area. Louise was also instrumental in helping to set up vital community networks at the start of the Covid 19 pandemic which enabled local individuals and groups to come together as the Pontypridd Community Support Network to provide vital support in their local communities. Louise has a BA in Philosophy and French, an MscEcon International Relations, and PgCert in Entrepreneurial Practice & an MA Applied Linguistics. She was recognised as the best performing student in her year in 2018 & gained a Senior Fellowship of Higher Education in 2017.
Shirley Hinde
Secretary
Shirley is a registered Dietitian & Senior Lecturer at the University of South Wales and is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.
She has twenty-four years of post-graduate experience in nutrition and dietetics, working in clinical, public health/ community development and education settings both in the UK and S.E. Asia. Her experience includes the development of training programmes suitable for a range of participants, including members of the public, mentoring students, and supervision of research projects.
She has developed and implemented nutritional strategies within a geographical area of high deprivation and her approaches include participatory appraisals and capacity building of those working with children and young people. Her professional interests include health inequalities and food security. In addition to providing secretarial support Shirley will be advising the board on encouraging the uptake of plant-based lifestyles through sustainable land use.
Catrin Hanks-Doyle
Marketing and Communications
Catrin is an Artist and Educator: passionate about engaging young people in their environment and issues of sustainability, enabling them to take an active role in their community and as citizens of the world.
As an artist Catrin has fundraised and led a number of environmental arts projects that engage the whole community in a shared conversation on sustainability with local partners, including ‘NATURponty: The Pontypridd Nature Reserve project’ with Addo Creative and Ponty Dysgu, ‘Pontypridd 2120’ an online exhibition with Pontypridd Museum, as well as ‘Pentref Perffaith / the Perfect Welsh Village’. She contributed a video diary for an S4C gardening series and made a short award-winning film about Eco-Anxiety entitled ‘Annwyl Plant’. As an activist Catrin has also been instrumental in working with young people to coordinate Young Friends of the Earth Pontypridd whose short film appeared on Channel 4 news. Catrin holds a BA in Documentary & Video and a Post-Graduate Certificate of Education.
To find out more about Catrin visit her website here: https://catrindoyle.squarespace.com/
Wayne Chicken
Treasurer
Wayne moved to Ponty in 2003, where he lives with his wife and (now nearly grown) children. Born and raised in rural South Africa where the land and all its creatures was his playground, he developed a passion for nature and connection with the World.
However, he then spent many years “adulting” acquiring skills in Risk Management, Finance, and Data, and he now runs a successful Data Management consultancy, but has since lost touch with his Tir. He joins Tir Pontypridd to help build an organisation in our community which is trying to buy back what he had for free.
Mike Powell
Vice Chair
Mike is a Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Councillor representing the Trallwn Ward
Here in Pontypridd we are lucky to have such a range of skills, talent and experience within our community. Read on to meet those who have volunteered their time to form an Advisory Group that Tir Pontypridd can draw upon as we develop and grow.
Meet our Advisory Group
If you think you have skills that can support the aims and objectives of Tir Pontypridd please get in touch, we’d love to hear from you!
Dr Walter Dewitte
Small Holdings Advisor
Walter is a Belgian scientist, currently working as Senior Lecturer at Cardiff University where he heads up research which is seeking to understand how cell division is integrated with growth and development in plants.
In his spare time Walter and his partner Aimee run a small holding on the Graig in Pontypridd. Through this he has gained a great deal of useful knowledge of purchasing and managing small plots of land, as will as associated skills such as looking after small numbers of livestock.
Andrew Sowerby
Forestry & Tree Planting Advisor
Andrew is the Regional Manager for Pryor & Rickett Silviculture, chair of the Confor Wales (a not-for-profit membership organisations for sustainable forestry and wood using businesses) committee, a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Foresters and an elected member of the ICF Council.
Prior to this Andrew held leading roles in the Forestry Commission and Natural Resources Wales. He lives in Pontypridd and has offered his services to the Society.
Anne-Mie Melis
Graphic Design & Branding