Meet the Trustees: Steph Bright

Meet new Sussex Wildlife Trust Trustee Steph Bright (she/her)

Tell us a bit about yourself

Hi, I'm Steph! I live in Brighton with my partner and our cat Pumpkin, originally from South East London, I moved here for Uni and never left. I currently work in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and have a background in helping organisations to train their workforces and shape inclusive cultures. I love to hike, go to the cinema (Duke of York's is my happy place!), to see live music and I do a bit of sewing when I have time. Anything involving delicious food is also a favourite.

What drew you to becoming a Sussex Wildlife Trust Trustee?

I've always tried to find ways to get involved in my local community through volunteering alongside my day job as that's really important to me, and it has always been an amazing way to meet different people and develop new skills. I'm an animal lover passionate about wildlife, and have a big interest in sustainable design and consumption, so when I saw the Trustee role advertised, and that the Trust was specifically looking for people with DEI expertise, I figured it was a great time to apply!

Do you have a particular area of interest, in management of the Trust or wildlife in general?

I'm really excited to generally learn more about the conservation sector as it's not an area I've worked in before. I love bats and volunteer as a bat rescuer so probably know most about bats than other species, but have an interest in lots of our native wildlife from Badgers, to Foxes and especially Dormice. I've also been brushing up on my tree and wildflower knowledge over the last year so keen to keep learning about the beautiful wildlife we have on our doorstep. Naturally I'm hoping to use my DEI expertise to support the Trust with their Wild Sussex strategy and find ways to create more curiosity and participation with nature amongst communities.

What is your favourite wild space in Sussex?

There are too many to name one! Stanmer Park is a nostalgic one as I lived on campus for my first year at Sussex University and loved being surrounded by the Downs there. I love the hikes around Cissbury Ring and a local I've been enjoying lately is Castle Hill up at Woodingdean.

What would be your ideal Sunday afternoon?

Ideally it's sunny, so first a hike up on the downs or somewhere scenic with a coffee, followed by a roast dinner with friends (parsnips are essential) and then we all go back to someone's house for drinks, some music in the background and a board game or just spend time catching up.

Tell us something about you most people won’t know

I spent time living in Sevilla and speak Spanish (although it's admittedly a bit rusty these days)!