Siobhán MacMahon
Core Landscapes Project Director
Siobhán is passionate about the importance of accessibility in green spaces and the ways in which nature connection and interaction can benefit wellbeing. They love supporting people to develop and share their skills and knowledge about the natural world. They are particularly interested in food growing, supporting wildlife in urban green spaces and spreading the joys of gardening.
They have been community gardening for nearly 15 years and working in mental health and disability support for a decade. They previously managed St Mary’s Secret Garden, worked in learning and development at Social Farms and Gardens, and supported trainees and volunteers working in social enterprise at Centre For Better Health.
They oversee the work of Core Landscapes including maintenance and development of five growing sites, teaching gardening classes, facilitating workshops and corporate team away days among many other things!
Rachael Cohen
Core Landscapes Community Gardener
Nemone Mercer
Core Landscapes Consultation + Community Garden Design Services
Nemone is passionate about connecting people with the natural environment through plants, for the benefit of both, and promoting the value of this work to stakeholders. She is a keen environmentalist and advocate of green community action for both mental health and to address the climate and biodiversity emergencies. She has been community gardening, and garden designing, for 15 years, and working in mental health and environmental stewardship for 12 years as Core Landscapes’ project director.
In this role Nemone also supports other community growing projects and has worked with Natural England, RHS, Capital Growth, Social Farms and Gardens, and Hackney Parks to deliver training, presentations, and consultations around the positive impacts of community-based green interventions.
Nemone is also a trustee of The London City Farms and Community Gardens Association https://londonfarmsandgardens.org.uk/
Jonathan Bennett
Core Landscapes Construction Coordinator
Jonathan is a self-employed garden contractor and, for the last 18 years, has combined this work with part-time employment at Core Landscapes. This balance of private and charity-based work has proved symbiotic, as clients often donate unwanted plants and waste materials to be repurposed. His sustainable, low environmental impact approach to community gardening is at the heart of Core Landscapes’ ethos.
Jonathan comes from an art school background, bringing his creativity to each project, whether it be designing and installing solar-powered irrigation, or making raised beds, ponds and pathways. Building with recycled materials is a challenge Jonathan enjoys and, at Core Landscapes, he’s able to share what he’s learnt, through organised workshops and volunteering sessions.