When he stepped into his role as Mayor in May 2022, former Mayor of Romsey, Neil Gwynne, announced his two charities of the year for his 2022/23 term and kindly selected Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust as one of his charities.
Being so close to a nature reserve, and surrounded by New Forest, Test Valley and the Solent; Romsey residents appear to be increasingly interested in nature and wildlife. Therefore, the decision to select the Trust as one of his charities seemed like an obvious choice for Neil, as one of the Trust’s reserves, Fishlake Meadows, sits right on the door step of Neil and the residents of Romsey. As the chair of the Wilder Romsey group, championing urban rewilding, Neil has always had an interest in wildlife, particularly having grown up on the edge of the New Forest. This led Neil to being a lover of Biology at school, which eventually progressed to a degree in Ecology.
It has certainly been a busy year for Neil as Mayor, which is evident in his weekly blog which he would post on the Romsey Town Council website. Throughout the year, Neil held a number of events in the local community to raise money for his chosen charities. Neil’s three main events were a town hall dinner, a concert at Romsey Abbey and a charity raffle.
The concert, which Neil named ‘Mixing it Up’, is an established annual fundraiser in March which includes a carefully curated line up of a wide range of performers – showcasing the calibre of talent that Romsey has to offer. The performance comprised of choirs, a classical orchestra, youth jazz orchestra, the cast of musical production of ‘Our House’ which was performed at the Plaza Theatre shortly after the event as well as Neil himself performing some spoken word pieces. The event was a huge success, with around 250 people in the audience to watch the 170 performers taking part. He also used this event to launch his fundraising raffle, which was full of fantastic prizes.
Overall, Neil raised over £6000 for his two chosen charities, so donated £3100 to the Trust to support our ongoing work maintaining Fishlake Meadows and protecting the vulnerable species that call it home. Neil continues to support the Trust through his work with the Wilder Romsey group, inspiring the residents of Romsey to help us create a wilder future. You can keep up to date with the latest news from the Wilder Romsey group through their website Wilder Romsey (wilder-romsey.org).
If you are interested in making the Trust your charity of the year, please get in touch with our fundraising team at fundraising@hiwwt.org.uk.