After an appeal earlier in the year for people to come forward and join its management board, Peasedown Community Trust has welcomed two new trustees to the team.

Alex Wright and Shaula Reilly, who both live in Peasedown, bring a wealth of knowledge and expertise with them to the charity.

Alex Wright is a Director of ScienceScope, an education technology company based at a local school. The organisation plays a pioneering role in the development of digital skills and IoT in education, equipping young people for their future and contributing towards a more sustainable world. He is also a Governor at Peasedown St John Primary School.

"I'm pleased to join the management team at Peasedown Community Trust", said Alex. "I was impressed by the organisation's environmental vision and wanted to get involved. The more we can encourage children and their parents to take an active interest in caring for the environment, the better."

Shaula Reilly is the new curate at St John's Parish Church. A former GP, Shaula practiced in Taunton for many years before taking up her new role with the church.

"I was impressed by just how much the Trust had done in the community in its first year of operations", said Shaula. "As well as serving the village through the church I was keen to get involved with other projects and organisations too, so when I was approached about becoming a trustee I jumped at the chance!"

Peasedown Community Trust was established last year in the wake of the first lockdown. It's an amalgamation of several community projects that have joined together to form one united charity.

Chairman of Trustees and Director, Gavin Heathcote said: "Peasedown St John is a fantastic place to live, work and visit – and we have a lot to shout about.

" With a population of almost 7,000 residents, the village was in need of a civic body that would champion good causes and be proactive in 'getting things done'. So, a group of us decided to step up to the mark!

"We're absolutely thrilled that Alex and Shaula have joined the team. We're looking forward to working with them in years to come."

Projects currently run by the Trust are:

Peasedown Community Library – in partnership with B&NES Council, the Trust run the village's library service. Over 20 volunteers help manage a wide range of library services each week.

Peasedown Community Garden – in partnership with Curo, they run a sensory, quiet garden where villagers can go to relax, unwind, and volunteer in a range of initiatives.

Dementia Friendly Peasedown – A team of trained Dementia Champions are raising awareness of the condition across the village and helping to create a dementia-friendly community.

Since it was created 12 months ago, the Trust has already launched a Grant Scheme to support local projects, organised a community clean up, helped coordinate Peasedown's Remembrance 2020 commemorations, fed almost 100 villagers in need at Christmas, kept a community library open during lockdown and coordinated the village's biggest ever environment survey.

Peasedown Community Trust members are not paid and serve voluntarily.

For more details, visit the Peasedown Community Trust Facebook page at www.facebook.com/PeasedownCommunityTrust or email [email protected]