No.30 Design Studio

Yorkshire 3 Peaks done again with Sara, did it exactly this time last year…however this time we did it the wrong way around and knocked off 2 hours!43k in 9 hours happy with that and legs felt good 😀💪🏽 #yorkshirethreepeaks #happyplace #feelingawesome

Day 2 of our weekend hike 17k to Derwent Water via scrambling up to Cat’s Bells, hill loved it…awesome views at the top, we were so lucky with the weather 😎 #catbellkeswick #lakedistrictuk #awesomeweekend #hikingweekend

Weekend of hiking in the Lake District Day1 - 33k Ullswater Circular - such a beautiful day and awesome day!

🌍✨ The Power of 1%. In design and construction, it’s easy to think small changes don’t matter. But imagine if every project, every material choice, every decision shifted just 1% towards sustainability. That 1% compounds. It scales. And it becomes the momentum we need to reshape our industry. Sustainable change doesn’t always start with sweeping transformation. Sometimes, it starts with a single percent. 💬 What’s one small change you could make today that adds up to something bigger? #SustainableDesign #CircularEconomy #LowCarbonFuture #GardenDesign #ClimateAction

For over 20 months October 2025 has been a month firmly etched in my mind, as the month our Conquer Kilimanjaro Challenge for @st_michaels_hospice became a reality. 16th October - a date loaded with trepidation, excitement and every emotion in between. Inevitably this month’s highlights are all about Kilimanjaro, the shy, sleeping volcano, largest free-standing mountain in the world, and my 7-day trek up its steep slopes. Clockwise from top left – a flyby coming into land in Tanzania, at an altitude of 6000m our plane was only 100m higher than the summit, as it poked out through the clouds. Our first glimpse of the mountain, appearing to be floating above the clouds, on route to our trek starting point. At Machame Gate, the starting point of the 7-day trek. Day 1 took us through the tropical rain forest, giant tree ferns towered above us and trees were cloaked with moss and Spanish moss hung from the branches. Our camp for our first night, fairly level and rock free, each night’s camp got steeper and rockier, and sleep was difficult due to the altitude. Our team of 60+ porters took down our camp each morning and carried it up the mountain to the next camp and set it up ready for our arrival each day. Up in the alpine desert, giant senecio - Dendrosenecio kilimanjari found growing near water under 4000m. Found only on Kilimanjaro, it was one of several plants found only on the mountain. The view from Stella Point, 5756m at the rim of the crater, looking back down the path at where we had just come. It was 6:10am, -6°C surrounded with cloud, with little visibility. The ascent had taken 7hrs 10mins, after setting off in darkness at 11pm. Just under an hour later Lexi, David and I reached Uhura Peak summit, 5895m, the highest point in Africa, thanks to our guide Sam and porter John, it seemed an endless walk through the cloud and was emotional when we finally reached the summit! To donate click on the link in my bio. This was to raise money for St Michael’s Hospice, in memory of my Mum. #conquerkilimanjaro #kilimanjaro @thedifferenttravelcompany @africanscenicsafaris @samsonlaizer81 @mountaingirllexi

It is crazy to think a week ago I was heading to Tanzania fod the Conquer Kilimanjaro Trek raising money for @st_michaels_hospice After 20 months of fundraising, training and buying and testing kit, finally we set off for our 7-day trek along the Machame Route up to the summit. I have added a synopsis of each day of the trek in the comments if you want to read more about our adventure. Thanks to my fellow trekkers for some of the pictures too :) Remember this was all in aid of @st_michaels_hospice , and I was taking part in memory of my mum who they looked after before she died in 2011. You can donate using the link in the bio. #kilimanjaro #machameroute #charitytrek @thedifferenttravelcompany @africanscenicsafaris @tanya.stephens.77 @mountaingirllexi @samsonlaizer81

Why We Need Innovation in Garden Design. Sustainability isn’t enough. Not if it stays niche. Not if it’s reserved for the few who can afford beautiful, bespoke gardens. We need innovation in garden design that reaches everyone, not just the top 10%. Because if we only build climate-conscious gardens for the the most affluent, we’re missing the point, to truly shift the dial on climate resilience, biodiversity, and urban liveability, we need to design for everyone. With population rising and housebuilding scaling up, the landscape industry must innovate and evolve alongside construction — not behind it. But here’s the challenge: meaningful change takes decades. So if we want to see widespread adoption of circular principles, low-carbon materials, and regenerative approaches by 2050 then we have to start now. That’s why I believe in designing for everyone. Not just for show gardens or elite projects, but for the streetscapes, housing developments and community spaces that shape our everyday environment. At No.30 Design Studio, our SCULPTS project is rethinking what landscape construction could look like, exploring how 3D-printed, bio-based and low-carbon materials might offer a modular, scalable alternative to the traditional, carbon-heavy landscaping practices still widely used today. We need to move away from the Take, Make, Waste capitalist model of extracting cheap resources for maximum profit, and move towards circular economy model. This has led to collaborating on the #BeeBlox project a finalist of the William Sutton Prize for Sustainability, by @clarionhousing a leading provider of social housing. This isn’t about following trends. It’s about creating affordable, scalable, low carbon, climate resilient gardens, and making innovation accessible to the many, not the few. Let’s start innovating where it matters most: under our feet. What would it take to bring real landscape innovation to the mainstream? I’d love to hear your thoughts. #GardenDesign #LandscapeInnovation #SustainableLandscapes #SCULPTS #CircularDesign #ClimateAdaptation #LowCarbonLiving #DesignForAll #LandscapeArchitecture #RethinkLandscaping #No30DesignStudio #GreenerFutures

One year ago, I was awarded Innovator of the Year for my SCULPTS project at the Herefordshire Business Awards! 🌱 12 months before that, it was just a revolutionary idea I had to help combat climate change in my industry. Through collaborative work with @concretenomad , this year I am part the BeeBlox team shortlisted as finalists for the prestigious William Sutton Prize for Sustainability. I wish all the HBA 2025 finalists equally as much success for 2026 Here’s to small ideas making a big impact, one project at a time. #TBT #SustainableDesign #InnovationInLandscaping Herefordshire Business Awards @herefordshire_business_awards @herefordmeansbusiness

Think climbing Kilimanjaro takes 7 days? You’re wrong. It takes 20 months of fundraising, training, blood, sweat and tears. Back in January 2024, I signed up for a 7-day trek up Kilimanjaro with @tanya.stephens.77 . It felt so far away. But what you don’t see is that the challenge started the day we signed up. Every mile run or walked, every physio session, every fundraising event, it’s all part of climbing that mountain. Sponsorship isn’t just about the trek itself. It’s about the journey, the preparation, and the effort that’s gone into it for nearly 2 years. As I am a bit of a data nerd, here is my 20 months in numbers: NGS Garden openings: 2 NGS visitors through garden: 375 Cakes baked by friends for Open gardens: 14+ Months spent menopausing and not training: 5 Weight lost: 1.5 stone – the hard way! Kilometres run this year: 400 @StevenMasseyHikingTours done this year: 10 - Total distance 179 miles Longest walk in a day: Yorkshire 3 Peaks 25 miles 1/2 marathons run : minus 2 (menopausing and knee) MRI scan on Knee: 1 Physio therapist sessions: 6 Average exercise training session per week: 4 Minutes spent walking backwards on treadmill like a wierdo: 600 Strava fitness score improved by 2150% And most importantly: Money raised by both of us for St Michael's Hospice so far: £4817 Every pound raised goes directly to St Michael’s Hospice, thanks to us self-funding the trip. We’ve raised £4,817 so far — but with your help, we can push that even further. In 8 days we will fly to Tanzania and start our trek. If you’ve been following my journey, now’s the time to get behind it. Please sponsor and be part of the climb, you can find the link to our just giving page in my bio. #kilimanjarotraining #kili #endurance #charityevent #challenge

This time last week the BeeBlox team were in London as finalists in the William Sutton Prize for Sustainability, hosted by Clarion Housing. From over 200 applications, we were shortlisted as one of just six finalists in the sustainability category. It was an honour to present our work alongside other pioneering ideas — from transforming agricultural waste into insulation panels to adaptive heating systems that support decarbonisation, and new models for reclaiming overlooked spaces into sustainable homes. The William Sutton Prize celebrates bold concepts that can make lasting improvements to the built environment and local communities, with winners sharing £125,000 in funding plus tailored support to bring ideas to life. Although we didn't win we were proud to have showcased BeeBlox on such a great stage — and excited for what’s ahead. #tbt #Sustainability #Innovation #WilliamSuttonPrize #BeeBlox @theconcretenomad @hivefivebeekeeping @clarion.housing

Another month gone! As the nights drew in and first signs of autumn appeared, my September was a month of celestial events, family birthday celebrations and of course, continued Kilimanjaro training on top of the day-to-day. Clockwise from top left: My Dad, celebrating his 80th birthday with a cake showing him kayaking over a waterfall. His kayaking days are over, but now I see where I get my sense of adventure from now. I spent the Autumn Equinox hiking with @stevenmasseyhikingtours (SMHT) around Stonehenge and Old Sarum. Up, before dawn, we were at Stonehenge to see the sun rise. My final long training hike before Kilimanjaro, it was a 19-miler and marks the end of 10 months of long-distance walking training, building up my endurance and strength. On the 25th I went to London for the William Sutton Prize with @Clarionhousing as #BeeBlox were one of the six finalists in the Sustainability category. A brilliant showcase for the project I am immensely proud to be involved with, especially as it is an all-female team of amazing women! Thanks to a family reunion my dad was given a photo of him and his mum, taken not long before she died which he had never seen it before. On the full moon and lunar eclipse, I joined SMHT on a short (6 mile) walk around Ludlow and the Mortimer Forest, ending in some frantic chasing around Ludlow in the dark looking for the moon, which we found in time to see the partial eclipse (centre). I took this photo of Cheddar Gorge, driving home after another 10-mile walk around the top with SMHT. We took the long trip up to Harrogate last weekend for Afternoon Tea at The Majestic Hotel for the MIL’s birthday, in a dining room oozing in old school glamour and living up to the majestic name. And lastly, me and Mr Massey himself! Thanks to his amazing tours I am fitter and stronger and can walk for miles and miles and miles now with the bonus of having made new friends along the way! #september #friendsandfamily #kilimanjarotraining #hiking

🌿✨ #TBT to my RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden, September 2021 – The IBC Pocket Forest. Four years ago this week, I brought a bold idea to Chelsea: turning repurposed IBC tanks, their pallets and offcuts into a living pocket woodland. Inspired by the Miyawaki method, it showed how even the smallest spaces can support rich layers of planting, wildlife, and biodiversity. It was the only ever September Chelsea, and it felt like the perfect moment to share a garden rooted in courage, accessibility and sustainability. From a striking blue wall to vertical ‘wildlife ladders’, every detail was about reimagining what gardens can do for people and nature, and most importantly I wanted it to be budget friendly and accessible to all to replicate. It demonstrated that gardens don’t have to cost the earth, figuratively and financially too! I couldn’t have done it without the amazing volunteers and friends who made it possible 💚. 👉 Swipe through to relive the Pocket Forest story with me, and let me know – which part inspires you most? Photo Credits: Pictures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 @stephenstuddphotography #RHSChelsea #PocketForest #SustainableDesign #GardenDesign #TBT #RHSCHELSEAFLOWERSHOW @the_rhs #pocketforest #miyawakiforest #gardendesigner #upcyclingideas