Jamie Quince-Starkey

I began DTE Derby (Down to Earth) as a very open idea, fed up with what I was seeing and feeling towards our food, planet and personal connection with nature. I currently work full-time and not so long ago became a father.

It’s hard to implement changes in our day-to-day lives for the better of our planet, I know how hard it can be to feel like you’re doing something positive, I also understand how sometimes it’s just easier to carry on as we already are when we are so busy and preoccupied with ‘life’.

Battling with these feelings and desperately trying to find a way to make a change, I realised something in my back garden – if we want to change the world for the better, we need to start at the beginning and reconnect with nature on every level.

"The Down to Earth Project is an idea born out of conflict; the conflict of living life in the modern-day and the realisation of the negative impact we have on this planet."

The challenge is making a difference whilst also being realistic and having an understanding of how life is for the average person; I know we can’t just jump ship and move to an off-grid community (imagine if the problem was that simple)!

The issues we face are a symptom of a much bigger problem; that problem being our (humans) disconnection with nature.

Our Mission
To work for our communities empowering everyone to be part of making derby a world leader in nature-based urban regeneration.

To make living with nature a part of our everyday lives.

Creating a movement with the people of derby through a series of nature-based engagement projects and promoting the new city social.

Promoting and contributing to a thriving sustainable-regenerative economy for everyone, making Derby a blueprint for world-class nature-based urban regeneration.