Dear Community,

Thank you to everyone who has shared thoughtful reflections about Pineridge with the PET Board. Your care for the residents, the Park, and our wider community is deeply appreciated. It is clear that this conversation is about more than land or buildings, it touches the life, spirit, and relationships that shape who we are together.

Many of you have expressed that whoever may ultimately take on the stewardship of Pineridge, whether EF-CBS, PET, FF SCIO, EKOPIA, FHT or a collaborative model, the guiding priority must be the wellbeing of the community. We wholeheartedly agree. Stewardship is not simply asset management; it is an act of care, protection, and long-term responsibility.

We want to reassure you that PET has no intention of undermining any organisation, nor is there any proposal to “carve up” the Park. Our role is not tied to ownership but to supporting the community and helping safeguard the Park as a whole. What matters now is open communication, shared intention, and working together rather than in fragments.

We are committed to avoiding speculation about parcelisation before any community-owned path becomes clear. If renewal, housing, care flats, or infrastructure projects are considered in the future, they will need to be approached with sensitivity, honouring the people who live there now, the natural environment, the heritage of the area, and the social fabric of Pineridge.

The existing FFT buildings will require significant asbestos removal, and any transfer would need careful financial, environmental, and community-centred social and financial assessment and future collective planning. Although discussions are progressing, nothing has been decided. There is still ample space for consultation, reflection, and co-creation, and your ideas for sensitive renewal are deeply valued.

We recognise that affordable housing at the Park has been and is a critical need, PET has been and will remain committed to ensure affordable housing is and continues to be provided. Young people and families often leave the Findhorn Ecovillage due to lack of suitable homes, and long-term community members, who have contributed to the collective benefit all their lives, deserve secure and dignified places to live as they age.

At this stage, PET is only undertaking due diligence regarding the possible stewardship of Pineridge through its evolution, because we want to honour holding the intention of maximising the number of affordable and “care” homes being part of our legacy. Nothing has been decided yet, we can only make decisions once we have completed our due diligence.

At this time through collaborations we are hoping to support possibilities and best outcomes for all. This is an investigative process and a significant and complex undertaking, and we intend to proceed with deep care, for the human, zoological, and botanical life of the area. Any future consultation will be developed with you, not for you.

Re-Introducing PET and what we do together with you.

PET is committed to enhancing community life by:

  • Supporting, funding, and facilitating access to essential needs through practical developments and innovative educational, social, regenerative, and environmental projects.
  • Delivering an effective and affordable community housing programme. Currently, PET manages 16 dwellings with 8 more in the pipeline for early 2026, providing many people with the opportunity to live, grow, and contribute within the community.
  • Setting and meeting targets to reduce and avoid fossil-based carbon emissions, working toward Net Zero.
  • Safeguarding and nurturing the Light of Findhorn Sanctuary as a place of peace, spiritual practice, and collective contemplation, ensuring its accessibility and vitality as a shared resource for inner connection, resilience, and community harmony.
  • Facilitating fundraising and managing grant-funded initiatives that advance PET’s objectives. For example, we have collaborated with Ekopia on applications to the Rural Housing Initiative (RHI), FFT, and Duneland for securing land for affordable housing. We have also supported the Light of Findhorn funding application and other related initiatives, while strengthening collaboration with COIF, an NFA-owned project. Supporting community-based projects, including the Ukraine Refugee Forum, Children & Youth in Community play equipment, the Petunia Little Tree environmental dance education performance, and others. These outreach activities form an essential part of emerging multi-organisational partnerships.

PET Board is:

  • Amanda Haworth-Viklund, Chair
  • Alessandro Daboni, Housing Strategy Director
  • Leona Graham, CCC Director
  • Isabella Guerrini de Claire, Carbon Strategy Director

You can find more about us on our website https://parkecovillagetrust.co.uk/: ABOUT PET. We have an experienced and dedicated team for the many wings and awarenesses we hold at the Park Ecovillage:

  • Housing Wing:
      • Alex Wright — Housing Manager
      • Adrian Hutchins — Housing Coordinator
  • Caring Community Circle (CCC) Wing
      • Jen Hayward – Co-ordinator
      • Jane Gambrill – Assistant
      • Isabella Guerrini de Claire – Operations/Fundraising
      • supported by volunteers Catherine Brislee, Ann Bilous, and a task force of ~40 people
  • Carbon Strategy Wing
      • Roger Doudna & Göran Wiklund – Carbon Strategy Advisors
  • Light of Findhorn Sanctuary Wing
      • Lori Forsyth – Sanctuary Coordinator
      • Kathy Tyler – Sanctuary Advisor
      • Anni Broadhead – Sanctuary Finance
  • Overall operations
      • Flora Keiller — Finance Manager
      • Ursula Pfahler — PET Board Minutes Admin

PET is a membership trust with 173 members. Membership is free, and you are warmly invited to join, especially if you are a Pineridge resident.

Members receive direct updates and are always welcome to share ideas and perspectives: Join PET Membership: https://parkecovillagetrust.co.uk/support/

Having your email, through membership, greatly helps us ensure that everyone stays informed.

With love and care, The PET Board:

Amanda, Alessandro, Isabella and Leona