Who We Are
Our Story
The Hearth Network CIC is a grassroots community interest company based in Southport, Merseyside, co-founded by Rebecca Armstrong and Nadia Speers Robinson. We grew from a simple belief: that Southport doesn’t need to become something it isn’t — it needs to become, more fully, what it already is. A place where people, nature and community life are woven together with care. We bring residents, community groups, schools, businesses and the council together to make greener choices easier and take practical local action — through events like the Big Green Lunch, our beach cleans along the Sefton Coast, and programmes that run all year round. Our aim is simple: to help make Southport a greener place to live, work and visit, where sustainability is for everyone.
Why "The Hearth"?
The hearth is one of the oldest symbols humans share. In every culture it is the centre of the home and the centre of the community — the fire people gather around to be fed, to get warm, to hear stories, and to rest from the weary world. It carries the grandmother's energy: the wise woman who keeps the fire and makes sure no one is left out in the cold. Strangers become friends around the hearth.
Most modern homes no longer have a fireplace — and today "energy" means net zero and warm, efficient homes. But we believe Southport still needs its hearth: a place to gather, to share what we have, and to build community. That's what we're lighting here — a modern, green hearth for our town, burning a renewable, earth-friendly fuel.
Our Team
Our Board of Directors
The Hearth Network CIC is led by a board who care deeply about Southport, its people and its future:
- Rebecca Armstrong — Co-founder and Director. Rebecca brings expertise in energy efficiency and home retrofit through her work at Making Energy Greener, and leads on partnerships and community engagement.
- Nadia Speers Robinson — Co-founder and Director. Nadia’s background is in community and social enterprise, with a strong focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.
- Allison Sathiyanathan — Director. Allison is the NHS Net Zero Project Manager for Lancashire and South Cumbria, bringing deep knowledge of health, sustainability and how large organisations change.
- Becky Potter — Director. Becky founded A Gang of Elk, a forest school that supports wellbeing through nature, and brings a creative, child-centred approach to our work.
OUR VALUES
What guides everything we do
- People first — sustainability is a human thing, not a technical one. Everyone belongs, and no one is left behind.
- Connection to place — we’re rooted in Southport: its coast, its dunes and pinewoods, its communities and culture.
- Practical action over aspiration — we do things. We measure success by what actually changes in people’s lives.
- Depth over growth — a few deeply engaged people create more lasting change than a big crowd passing through. We grow slowly and intentionally.
- Equity and inclusion — our programmes are free and built around those who need them most.
- Honest partnership — we say what we mean and do what we say.
- Regeneration, not just reduction — we don’t just do less harm; we help restore nature, pride and local identity.
- Collaboration over competition — Southport’s future will be built by many hands. We see others as fellow travellers, not rivals.
Our Partners
Working with our community
Nothing we do, we do alone. We work alongside people and organisations across Southport who share our care for this place and its future — among them:
Nature and coast
• Green Sefton — caring for our coastline and green spaces, and helping people learn from them
• Sefton Coast Landscape Partnership — caring for the coastline we all share
• Natural England — supporting our Forest School and nature connection work
• Friends of High Park Green Spaces — looking after the green spaces at the heart of our town
Community and wellbeing
• Southport Girl Guides — young people taking sustainability into their own hands, from beach cleans to their textiles Thrift Badge
• Southport Rotary — hands-on support for community events across the town
• Brighter Living Partnership — connecting people to our programmes through social prescribing
• Southport Matters — celebrating the neighbourhoods that make this town; our co-founder Rebecca helps judge Neighbourhood of the Year
• Sefton CVS — connecting us with Southport's voluntary sector
Learning, business and region
• Edge Hill University — supporting learning, skills and evidence of what works
• The Carbon Literacy Project — accrediting our climate training for local businesses
• Sefton Council and InvestSefton — working together on regeneration, climate and community
• Liverpool City Region — connecting Southport to the region's journey to net zero
• Southport Visitor Economy Sustainable Task Force — helping shape how tourism and sustainability grow together in our town
And to every volunteer, stallholder and neighbour who shows up — thank you. This list keeps growing, and there's always room for one more.
Partners at the Great Big Green Lunch 2026, Southport Market — left to right: Karen Egleton (Co-op), Craig Speers (Flow (NW) Ltd), Nadia Speers Robinson (The Hearth Network), Patrick Hurley MP, Shaykh Ibrahim Hussein (Imam, Southport Mosque), Rebecca Armstrong (The Hearth Network), Tracey Robbins (Eden Project, Head of Communities) and Cllr Jen Corcoran, Mayor of Sefton.
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