“From the first school sports event at the NSC, I was fascinated by the sheer scale of Crystal Palace Park and the vistas across London. It wasn’t until much later in life when I was privileged enough to be part of the team developing the sustainable regeneration plan for this special park, that I fell in love with this beautiful area of south east London. It represents an important piece of our complex histories, and despite the many years of neglect, the park provides respite for millions of people every year, and is rich in wildlife. I’m grateful for the opportunity we have to conserve and enhance the park for future generations, with broad offerings and activities for our diverse local communities.“
Tucked under the boughs of this whopping horse chestnut tree lie the remnants of the grand entrance steps to the Crystal Palace – a forgotten corner of the park waiting to be remembered, reinvigorated.
Photo © Kit Oates
Heritage, Ecology and Landscape Working Group Lead
Gemma is a chartered landscape architect with experience spanning landscape planning, design and management. From landscape and green-blue infrastructure strategies, park and landscape restoration, to transportation, flood defence and recreation schemes, she has a deep understanding of landscape systems, habitats and working in and conserving historic environments. Experienced at project managing and operating within multi-disciplinary environments, Gemma has taken complex projects, built and led teams to deliver from concept, public consultation to detailing and overseeing construction and maintenance. Gemma is an assessor on the Landscape Institute’s Chartership programme and taught postgraduate Landscape Architecture at UEL.
Gemma is passionate about creating equitable and sustainable places for all people and nature, in finding ways to celebrate landscape, ecology and heritage. You might find Gemma in the park looking at trees, landscape or historic features. She joined Crystal Palace Park Trust’s Board of Trustees in 2020.
