MEET OUR TEAM

Bek Bibby

Co-Founder & Director

Catharine Smith

Co-Founder & Director

Rachel Butters

Director

Pel Mercer

Director

Our Board consists of 4 female directors with combined experience in Special Needs education, outdoor education, horticulture, business & project management. The Patch was founded by sisters Bek & Catharine in 2023. For years they had a vision of turning part of their 5th generation family farm into a place where they can bring their skills together to support young people with disabilities to learn valuable skills, and help them join the workforce and gain confidence in their abilities.

 

Bek is passionate about connecting people with nature through horticulture and land management skills. For 15 years she has run a flower farm and floristry business, alongside teaching children through the Forest School on West Pike Fish Farm. Here they learn about the countryside and outdoor skills, using this space as a therapeutic tool to build parent-child relationships.

 

Catharine's passion is working with young people to enable them to thrive. She has 17 years experience teaching those with special educational needs in a variety of settings. She believes that everyone can find a job that suits their skill set, and that everyone has a valuable contribution they can make to a community & workplace.

 

Rachel is a skilled project manager having worked in Marketing for many years. She brings to The Patch a wealth of knowledge in managing budgets & pitching for business. She is an avid outdoors woman, running ultra marathons in her spare time and has a deep attachment to the Kent countryside. 

 

Pel was born a florist. Working alongside her Mum in Australia for years, before moving to England. Pel has been a florist for 15 years, and has spent the last 5 years running a No Dig flower farm and floristry business in Italy. She is skilled in business management and has a passion for organic growing.