Sarah Thomson

Sarah Thomson

Sarah Thomson has lived in and around Newquay for over 35 years, and was a geography teacher for 30 years. Her daughters attended local schools, where Sarah was also a governor and PTA chair. She and her husband now manage the family’s organic smallholding and are co-owners of a local independent brewery. Her experience has given her an in-depth understanding of the needs of local business, as well as of environmental sustainability and governance. Sarah says:

"Hello. This is a brief insight into my green life and what I would like to share and impact upon in the near future.

As at Autumn 2022 my husband and I are housing a Ukrainian family and harvesting our organic produce from our Soil Association certified small-holding. My elderly mother also lives with us and gives a valuable insight into the day-to-day challenges that the elders of our society encounter; keeping warm, occupied and not feeling lonely. Coming from a lineage of market gardeners on both sides of the family I have found myself to have become an extremely knowledgeable horticulturalist. So I have started a ‘Gardening Questions and Answers Club’ at Newquay Library, second Wednesday of the month 1.30 to 2.30. All are welcome and we can discuss those outdoor space queries.

I am a business partner, with my husband, of a local organic brewery and facing the energy crisis head-on with electricity bills increasing tenfold. We have a Green Tariff that is tied to an out-of-date energy system which has all domestic energy generation tied to the open-market price of natural gas. This situation needs rectifying and I’m hoping that we can start putting local pressure upon Westminster to change this unjust practice.

My past long career in Geography Education is still maintained by marking GCSE exam scripts, being a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) and having my first book published with a local publisher, titled 'Walks with Wheels'. My deeply held belief in the principles of equality and access to all, inspired me to create this guide to walks in West Cornwall that can be enjoyed by all those who are wheel dependent. Two of these walks are based in and around Newquay and promote the Town. Living and working with 16-18 year olds and young adults has highlighted the anxieties that have and the limited place they have in our society. I would like to work with local charities to improve this scenario.

Environmentalism has inspired my higher education over the decades and I hope to assist Newquay in caring for its people, landscapes and seascapes with my knowledge and understanding of climatic change to coastal erosion to residents’ use of the Town’s spaces."