Tara Bowers
Tara joined ECOE in 2018 as a Home Energy Advisor with the Healthy Homes project. Shortly after she became one of our volunteer Directors, and held the Chair position for 12 months from June 2019 to June 2020. Since July 2020 Tara has been managing our award winning Healthy Homes for Wellbeing project.
What is your role at ECOE?
I am one of our volunteer Directors, helping to run the organisation. I help out with finance, marketing, and various other admin jobs that need doing. My day job is also with ECOE. I run the Healthy Homes project which involves managing our ever growing team, recruitment and training, project development, partnership building, funding, managing the budget, and ensuring we meet all the targets out funders set. I am also overseeing our first Retrofit project and spend a lot of time networking for ECOE in the business sector.
What’s your background?
I worked in banking for 11 years, which is when I studied for my degree in Business and Finance. Since then, much of my working life has been in the organic food sector. I ran my own organic retail shops in both UK and in France where I lived for 10 years. My company had a successful UK organic food brand which made it to the shelves of several major supermarkets as well as being sold to the independent trade. Since 2013 I have worked with a number of community energy organisations, campaigning for a large wind farm in Hampshire and solar sites in North Devon. Now I mostly concentrate on energy efficiency and alleviating fuel poverty in private homes.
What motivated you to join ECOE?
ECOE is one of the leading community energy organisations in the South West, and when an opportunity arose to join the Healthy Homes team and develop the service into Mid and East Devon, it was too good to miss. The ECOE team are a brilliant bunch of hard working people who have achieved so much in such a short period of time, and I’m very proud to now be one of team.
What should members and supporters talk to you about if they bump into you?
My earliest memories are of country walks with my family. This sparked an early interest in nature, especially birds and flowers. I also have been a keen amateur photographer from a young age. Nowadays I am a Devon Wildlife Trust and a Devon Birds Member. You’ll find me at many of the public events held by both of these organisations, always with a camera in my hand! I love food – local, seasonal, and organic of course! I enjoy all kinds of live music. Also, I spend a lot of time in the garden and at ‘open gardens’, and when time allows. I adore travelling and exploring new places.
