Serena Wootton: Our Parliamentary Candidate

Serena Wootton ppc

I was voted onto Chard Town Council in May 2019, since then I have shown that I am able to work well alongside others. As we have a majority Liberal Democratic Council the ability to work collaboratively is crucial.

I grew up within a farming community in Gloucestershire and have been an environmentalist since my early teens when I became concerned about run-off into the local rivers. In my 20s, I participated in a forestry project in East Africa, completing tree and soil surveys in order to safeguard the area from logging. After completing a Bachelor of Education degree, I went into teaching. In a career spanning twenty years, I came to specialise in Special Needs rising to the position of Assistant Head in charge of data and the sensory team at an Outstanding Special Needs school.

In 2017 my family and I decided to make a new life with less focus on commercialism and more focus on nature and well-being. As a result, we bought a business with its own woodland in South Somerset. This gave me time to review and reflect on sustainable living and how to reduce our impact on the environment.

After we moved to Chard I joined in as a volunteer with the local school recycling collection, raising money for a bike rack at the school. I also started the Plastic Free Chard Facebook page and began recruiting businesses and other volunteers to help the local community to see single use plastic differently.

I am a proud mum and foster carer and have a passion for swimming and other water-based activities I can share with friends and family. In addition to my interest in the natural environment, I am passionate about social justice. In particular, I advocate for children and young people that find it difficult to access their local community, enabling them to play a meaningful role within their community. This combination of social and environmental issues drew me to The Green Party, and I am delighted to be the new prospective parliamentary candidate for Yeovil.