Meet your Eco Geeks!
Meet the creatives behind the organisation of BB-Sustainable Tourism CIC
Helen's favourite quote...
"People will forget what you said,
people will forget what you did,
but people will never forget how you made them feel"
Helen Howarth
Founder & Executive Director
Meet Helen, the vibrant heart and soul behind BB - Sustainable Tourism CIC, and our lead volunteer. She possesses a profound understanding of the delicate harmony between preserving the environment, taking care of our community and fostering tourism.Raised in the New Forest National Park, Helen developed a love for the environment early on, with National Geographic magazines as her bedtime reading. Rooted in traditional values from her grandparents, Helen learned the art of repair and sustainability in our now disposable world.
While Helen once dreamed of exploring volcanoes as a young girl, her journey led her through the realms of retail, telecommunications, and the online industry, where she accumulated invaluable insights. Beginning her career in retail, she showcased her creativity through captivating visual displays and unwavering dedication to customer service. Transitioning to a pivotal role in a regional leisure and entertainment complex, she played a crucial role in its successful launch.
At Vodafone, Helen's star shone brightly, ascending to become the youngest store manager at 18 and eventually progressing to the global headquarters. Her experiences navigating significant technological advancements sharpened her skills in leadership, stakeholder engagement, project management, and enriching customer experiences.
Enduring a challenging cancer diagnosis in her late twenties, Helen's resilience guided her to recovery in the embracing landscapes of Wales post-treatment, where she sought solace in the BB National Park. Immersing herself as an Ambassador, she championed the Dark Skies Reserve, Welsh culture, language, and the rich geology and fauna. Balancing a busy life caring for three children, she also developed award-winning 5-Star holiday properties recognised for their quality, family and pet-friendly ethos and green practices. Beyond her successful business ventures, Helen has also served as a community councillor and served as a director for Brecon Beacons Tourism for a number of years.
Her dream of establishing a retail tourism business hub for community benefit has become a reality, focusing on sustainable tourism and local collaboration. Helen's vision is clear: infuse purpose and stardust into everything, driving positive change through a circular economy and business innovation. Offering eco-friendly products for consumers and trade, she aims to ignite conversations on sustainability and help local businesses adopt greener practices. In her realm, the word 'impossible' holds no weight, for she wholeheartedly believes in human ingenuity and collective action to forge a more sustainable future for all.
Arianwen Watkins
Director
From stands at The Royal Welsh Show, establishing Cardiff University's Higher Education Roadshow, SEN family day charity fundraisers, global company product exhibitions, community events, live music gigs and festival stage management - Ari has done them all!
But her heart has always been for environmental issues and eco living.
This love for all things environmental led to a degree in BSc Environmental Geoscience from Cardiff University. During studying Ari immersed herself in the culture and language of Utila, Honduras for 6 weeks whilst gathering coral reef data for her dissertation.
Their incredible country left an impact and to this day she's still learning Spanish!
A career path through marketing & events of multi-disciplines has led Ari to showcase businesses in various ways. Always at the heart of decision making was the environmentalist asking - Can we source more local products? Are there skill-sets nearer? How can we best promote Welsh/British talent?
Variety has been the spice of life and by meeting people from all walks it has given Ari a greater understanding of how to build on relationships and collaborations.
Whether that's by being a voice for others, hosting tourists to our beautiful National Park, or being a listening ear and offering pointers to a business that needs support. Ari is here to help!
Ari's favourite quote...
"True education flowers at the point when delight falls in love with responsibility"
Philip Pullman
Alex's favourite quote...
"Nature is the purest portal to inner-peace"
Angie Weiland Crosby
Alex Best
Retail Advisor
After visiting for the weekend Alex fell in love with Brecon, the brilliant local landscape and its warm and welcoming community.
Taking the plunge in 2022 she quit her job, left London, moved to Brecon and has never looked back. Now over a year later Alex is still in love with Brecon and starting to feel like a local. By taking every opportunity to explore the National Park (all hiking recommendations welcome) she absolutely loves being able to see a mountain everyday!
Alex is a trained gemologist, has a degree in design and with 8 years in the luxury retail industry in London's Bond Street is excited to be joining the team here at BB Sustainable Tourism.
Ales hopes to be able to immerse herself in the local community and make positive changes towards a more sustainable future.
She believes it's really important that we realise the positive differences we as individuals can make for the environment. Alex has chosen to eat a plant-based diet, stop buying clothes and furniture new and make every effort to reduce her plastic consumption. Although these choices are not right for everyone she believes it's important that we make sustainable options and choices as accessible and actionable as possible.
Richard Dalley
Renewable Energy Expert
Richard wakes up every day to the majestic view of Pen-fan. Located in our National Park, his business serves as the largest biomass importer and leading installer of biomass boilers in the UK, working closely with clients from various sectors of the tourism industry, including holiday homes, pubs, restaurants, and larger hotels and holiday resorts. By utilising cutting-edge condensing and emissions control technology, he ensures that these boilers are even cleaner than traditional gas alternatives.
As a chartered mechanical and electrical engineer, Richard has had an extensive career designing and installing sustainable and efficient heating, cooling, and ventilation systems across the UK and the Middle East. His passion for renewable energy solutions has led him to pioneer the use of biomass for heating and explore alternative sustainable refrigerants for cooling and passive ventilation. His innovative work can be seen throughout the Welsh Assembly Estate, including the iconic LC2.
During his time in Scotland, Richard was involved with Glasgow Action for Warm Homes, where he played a crucial role in replacing electric heating with heat networks. His efforts aimed at eliminating fuel poverty and ensuring everyone has access to clean and affordable energy.
Inspired by the sustainable innovations advancing in Scandinavian countries, Richard is dedicated to bringing similar practices and ideas to our own communities. He is equally enthusiastic about sustainable agriculture, where both food and energy can be harvested on farms, promoting a more harmonious relationship with our environment.
Beyond his professional endeavours, Richard is a self-proclaimed foodie who enjoys exploring the culinary delights of the local region and beyond. His love for his family and grandchildren fuels his commitment to nurturing the earth, ensuring that it can support future generations to come.
Allun's favourite quote...
"Nature is the source of all true knowledge."
Leonardo Da Vinci
Allun Thomas
Retail Advisor
Allun lives on a small holding in the central Bannau Brycheiniog / Brecon Beacons with his sheep, horses and rescue dogs.
After leaving school Allun joined the military. As well as a number of operational deployments Allun became a mountain leader and an instructor promoting leadership and diversity within the military.
After leaving the forces Allun joined the police service, there Allun specialised in Public Order Policing and became a lead as a tactical advisor and specialist search manager.
Working at a variety of high profile events across the country and abroad such as Glastonbury, Euros football in France and Germany, two NATO summits in Wales and England, G2O Summits in Scotland and Ireland, Champions League final Cardiff, Olympics London, the Pope’s visit, Wrexham football ground (meeting Ryan Reynolds), the new Wembley stadium, and all of the late Queen’s celebrations up until she died.
Allun gained a teaching qualification and went on to teach Event Commanders at a senior level including incident response, emergency response, management of incidents and health and safety matters.
In his spare time Allun enjoys walking, mountain biking and the privilege of living in a Dark Sky Reserve.
Irene Bristow
Financial Administrator
Irene is our experienced book-keeper, who we turn to for anything money related, whether that's reconciliation, financial analysis or budgeting. She's adept in QuickBooks with extensive bookkeeping experience and technical competency.
Irene's expertise in the print industry has given her skills within quality control, technical troubleshooting, and multi-tasking ability to prioritising deadlines. An advocate for sustainable printing, she keeps us in check over our energy consumption and office recycling.
In her free time Irene enjoys spending time exploring the National Park with her dog Cookie.
Yogi Bear
Introducing Yogi Bear, the charismatic Double Doodle maestro and Chief Bark’eting Officer at BB - Sustainable Tourism!
Yogi is not your average dog - he's a delightful blend of Golden Retriever, Poodle, Labrador Retriever, and Australian Sheepdog! Creating a one-of-a-kind fur ball, filled with energy and love. His idea of a paw’fect day? Frolicking around the National Park, conquering those trig points with such gusto that he will help drag his human to the summit.
A big supporter of local businesses, Yogi insists on snagging his goodies from the local butcher. When he's not charming the socks off shoppers in our shop, you can find him off on epic escapades across Wales and the UK, caravanning with his family and paw-tapping music festivals.
But wait, there's more to Yogi Bear than meets the eye - he's on a quest to become a certified therapy dog, spreading cheer and bear hugs wherever they're in demand. With a wag that could rival a windshield wiper, his life's mission is simple - to sprinkle smiles like confetti wherever he goes.
Rhubarb
Chief of Security
Born in 2023 on a lovely little farm in Builth, this little whippet is known around Brecon for her bold fashion choices. With the largest collection of doggy jumpers in Wales this tiny trend setter is hard to miss.
When she's not making the pavement of Brecon her own personal fashion catwalk (DOG walk) she loves putting those long legs to work. She's big fan of supporting local businesses and her favourite shop in town is Brecon Pets and Garden Centre. Whippets can easily reach speeds of 60 miles an hour and are referred to as "the poor man's racehorse". Rhubarb is born to run and can often be seen zooming around the prom.
Rhubarb is incredibly affectionate and loves to hand out big wet kisses to her favourite customers. She looks forward to welcoming you to the shop soon!
