Laura Ivill

"On one of BOST's gardening projects this year we had people aged two to 99. To me, there's something so naturally positive about cared-for green spaces - they bring life to the community."

Why is sustainable development important to you?
I feel engaged by the possibility I can make things happen to improve the way we enjoy our lives. The issues are complex, global and challenging, and therefore worthwhile. Why wouldn't we want to feel good about what we do and our impact on others? Ignoring the wider picture is not an option; succeeding in change is.

What does being a London Leader mean to you?
Being a London Leader is putting me in touch with the passion, energy, motivation, knowledge and viewpoints not only of the other Leaders, but also with the wider sustainable development community. There has never been a better time for us to work together. London has a cultural vibrancy the envy of the world - if we can lead the way in sustainable development it sure can work elsewhere.

Past experience
After degrees in French and in aesthetics, I shifted from arts to doctoral research in ecotourism (an unfavoured term then as it is now, although, for me, its very nebulousness conveys the complexity and ambiguity of its nature). In the decade since then, I moved back to London - to Bankside - and discovered a life-affirming sense of community here, in an inner-city, yet historic, central and cultural part of the metropolis; a sense that had been palpably missing from Metroland. I delighted in my surroundings (although I missed walking in the countryside - and having a bath at my flat - so I joined a gym, one with a spectacular Jaccuzi) and I launched and edited an arts and lifestyle magazine for the South Bank and Bankside. We ran a story on the work of the green spaces charity Bankside Open Spaces Trust (BOST) and I loved what they did and the value they brought to my area of concrete and regeneration (protecting and managing the highly prised oases of Bankside's pocket parks, and bringing the community together with gardening clubs, food growing, events, after-school clubs, wildlife projects). So, I seized my chance to join the steering group of the proposed community garden at Tate Modern. Two and a half years later we had a beautiful pond, a bountiful display of wildflowers and an opening party. I am now vice chair of BOST, and the organisation itself is growing. I'm reading and talking about sustainability and, crucially, making it happen, I'm reconnecting with wildlife tourism and conservation. I still miss long walks in the countryside, but, I do, I'm pleased to say, have my own bath.