RESTORING BLUE AND GREEN HAVENS FOR PEOPLE AND NATURE
About us
Green Circle was formed as a Community Interest Company in 2020. We are a lean operation with four directors and a small operations team including contractors and volunteers. This allows us to be agile and low-cost.
We are an inclusive organisation that values teamwork and sustainability.
Bijal
Director
Bijal Bhagwan brings a wealth of management experience from the private sector in a variety of roles. Outside of Green Circle, Bijal is a management consultant for Rambutan and runs a community newspaper. She also leads Leicestershire Scouts (an organisation of almost 10,000 people). Using her management and trustee experience, Bijal has a key role in the Green Circle team working in partnership with the other directors and operations manager to think strategically and lead our compliance and accounts to the highest level.
Sarah
Director
Sarah Gabbott came onboard as a Director in 2024. Sarah is a Professor at the University of Leicester, and has an International research profile. Her research focuses on environmental science, plastics, river pollution, evolution and ecology. Sarah is a passionate science communicator and is a published author, writer for the BBC , as well as being a TV presenter on a Channel 4 series Big Monster Dig. Sarah’s role is collect robust scientific evidence to inform Green Circle’s mission as well as funding acquisition. Sarah also leads Green Circle’s educational program.
Varsa
Education and Wellbeing Director
Varsa Khushalbhai has a 30 year career as an educator Varsa has held positions of Assistant Head Teacher (Primary School), responsibility for SENDCO (managing the needs of children with special educational needs) and designated safeguarding lead. Varsa uses her expertise across a spectrum of challenging learning scenarios to provide the best experiences and outcomes for the children and young people that we engage with.
Vickie
Director
Vickie Parkes is an Operating Department Practitioner. She brings an in depth knowledge when talking to young people about knife crime. When she talks to the young people at risk of criminal activities she has special credibility because she brings first-hand experience of the life changing consequences of knife crime (such as bagging) – she has witnessed this in hospital theatres all too often.
Ian
Head of Operations
Ian is our Operations Manager. The vision of Green Circle is shared across all the leadership team but the day-to-day operations are Ian’s responsibility. Ian has a wealth of experience in environmental management, improving spaces for biodiversity through methods which are sustainable and he is a qualified boat helm and engineer. Ian leads most of our activities and it is his unique set of people skills, which are the consequence of his life experiences, that set Green Circle apart from other organizations that seek to connect people to nature, or to enhance the environment. Ian has genuine credibility and rapport with the people we work with because he understands them.
Bijal
Director
Bijal Bhagwan brings a wealth of management experience from the private sector in a variety of roles. Outside of Green Circle, Bijal is a management consultant for Rambutan and runs a community newspaper. She also leads Leicestershire Scouts (an organisation of almost 10,000 people). Using her management and trustee experience, Bijal has a key role in the Green Circle team working in partnership with the other directors and operations manager to think strategically and lead our compliance and accounts to the highest level.
Sarah
Director
Sarah Gabbott came onboard as a Director in 2024. Sarah is a Professor at the University of Leicester, and has an international research profile. Her research focuses on environmental science, plastics, river pollution, evolution and ecology. Sarah is a passionate science communicator and is a published popular science author, writer for the BBC, as well as being a TV presenter on a Channel 4 series Big Monster Dig. Sarah’s role is collect robust scientific evidence to inform Green Circle’s mission as well as funding acquisition. Sarah also leads Green Circle’s educational program.
Varsa
Director
Varsa Khushalbhai has a 30 year career as an educator Varsa has held positions of Assistant Head Teacher (Primary School), responsibility for SENDCO (managing the needs of children with special educational needs) and designated safeguarding lead. Varsa uses her expertise across a spectrum of challenging learning scenarios to provide the best experiences and outcomes for the children and young people that we engage with.
Vickie
Director
Vickie Parkes is an Operating Department Practitioner. She brings an in depth knowledge when talking to young people about knife crime. When she talks to the young people at risk of criminal activities she has special credibility because she brings first-hand experience of the life changing consequences of knife crime (such as bagging)– she has witnessed this in hospital theatres all too often.
Ian
Operations Manager
Our Head of Operations is Ian. The vision of Green Circle is shared across all the leadership team but the day-to-day operations are Ian’s responsibility. Ian has a wealth of experience in environmental management, improving spaces for biodiversity through methods which are sustainable and he is a qualified boat helm and engineer. Ian leads most of our activities and it is his unique set of people skills, which are the consequence of his life experiences, that set Green Circle apart from other organizations that seek to connect people to nature, or to enhance the environment. Ian has genuine credibility and rapport with the people we work with because he understands them.