PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES

My Peak District

PHOTO: TOM MARSHALL

Sarah Fowler

Caring for the environment and connecting people to it are close to Sarah Fowler’s heart – both professionally and personally – as Fiona Stubbs discovers.

Sarah Fowler is the chief executive of the Peak District National Park Authority.

Ever since I was a child, I’ve loved being outdoors. I was born in Zambia as my father was working abroad, helping to set up pharmacies across the developing world. When I was three, we moved back to the UK.

As a young girl I’d often go out exploring the countryside with my two brothers and sister – I always enjoyed being out on my bike. And I was drawn to nature from a young age.

My first experience of the Peak District was a family holiday several years before

I came here for work. We were camping and my best memory was cycling on the

Tissington Trail. The kids were tiny at the time, learning to ride their bikes. We stopped in Tissington and had a lovely cup of coffee and ice cream. It’s a simple, but very special memory.

I believe that, as people, we are innately drawn to nature. Three things drive me – a compassion for the planet we live on, compassion for the people we share it with and the connection that exists between the two. We are more compassionate, connected and courageous people when we can connect with a resilient and healthy environment.

What drew me to my role at the Peak District National Park was the opportunity to connect people to the environment – working in a pioneering organisation for an extraordinary landscape. By helping people to connect with inspiring places, hopefully they can be inspired to care for them.

When I first arrived in this job, I drove around the National Park boundary to get an idea of the scale of the Peak District. We’re close to millions of people in the surrounding towns and cities where life is so busy but, as you enter the National Park, there’s a real sense of beauty and tranquillity – and a connection to nature.

It’s so important to create opportunities for nature to thrive and people to get that connection and experience of our best landscapes, that sense of everyday life slowing for a moment, allowing us all to pause.

The thing I’ve missed most over the last year of working from home, due to Covid-19 restrictions, is the ability to get around and see the National Park and the people who care for it. I love that every turn brings a different view and that every person has their own reason for loving the Peak District National Park. The Peak District’s contrasting landscapes are what makes it different to other national parks.

It’s not just somewhere I work but somewhere I enjoy with family and friends. I’ve always loved cycling on the Tissington, Monsal and High Peak trails with my two kids – especially when they were younger. I also

Curbar Edge.

Sarah Fowler

Born: Zambia, Africa; grew up in Wiltshire. Family: A son and daughter, both at or very shortly heading off to university. Education: BSc degree in Biology, University of Nottingham; MSc in Aquatic Resource Management, King’s College, London. Previous employment: Wiltshire Wildlife Trust; RSPB; English Nature (predecessor to Natural England); Peterborough Environment City Trust; the Environment Agency. Current roles: Chief executive of the Peak District National Park Authority; board member to the VisitEngland Advisory Board; board member of the Active Partners Trust – chair of the Active Derbyshire panel.

Sarah’s missed getting around the National Park over the last year due to Covid-19 restrictions.

do my best to cycle to work – and must get better at that!

I’m a keen runner and one of my favourite routes is from the top of Beeley Hill to Hob Hurst’s House to Chatsworth Edge. With a mix of moorland, woodland and pasture, you get a sense of both the Dark and White Peaks. I also love White Edge and Curbar Edge – especially in the snow. The weekend before I started my job here, in 2015, I took my kids up there for a walk. It was January and there was snow – it was magical.

A great recent experience was running the Derwent Valley Heritage Way from Fairholmes to Matlock. Last year, my daughter had signed up to do the London Marathon which, of course, became a virtual event with people running 26 miles on their own patch. So, on 3rd October, my daughter, some friends and I ran our own marathon along this amazing route.

Occasionally, I like to take myself out of my comfort zone. I’m not a great lover of heights but some of my friends are – and are incredible climbers, too. I’ve joined them for climbs at Stanage Edge – I enjoy the opportunity to be taught by others.

I’m the first female chief executive of the Peak District National Park and the second woman to be CEO of a UK national park. But that’s not something I focus on.

Women, such as environmental campaigner Ethel Haythornthwaite (1894–1986) here in the Peak District, have always played an important role in the creation and development of national parks.

We were created for everyone, at a time of great need for the wellbeing of the nation after the Second World War. The launch of the NHS and the expansion of National Insurance were happening at the same time. National parks were incredibly relevant back then.

And we are relevant now for modern Britain. We’re tackling Covid-19, a health and wellbeing emergency and challenges around climate change and bio-diversity.

I’m driven by nature recovery, sustainability and working in partnership, bringing together a breadth of views. I’m about building partnerships to make lasting change, whether that’s here in the Peak District or working across the 15 UK national parks, to test new ways to help our green recovery. We can be a beacon for the nation in tackling the main challenges of our time – climate and biodiversity emergency.

I think I’ve been very blessed that, throughout my career, I have been able to connect with some brilliant people and have been given space to innovate and to follow things that matter to me, allowing me to enjoy my roles. I always tell my kids: “Follow what you enjoy, then you will always be your best.”

We are more compassionate, connected and courageous people when we can connect with a resilient and healthy environment Sarah’s advice for looking after the Peak District National Park

I think the vast majority of people want to look after the countryside. It doesn’t have to be big gestures – small things, such as picking up litter or not lighting a fire, make a huge difference.

Make a difference by picking up litter.