I was recently invited to do a TEDx talk at Lancaster University where I shared my journey leading and creating community green spaces.
After the conference, several excited attendees came over and asked me, “How did you do it?”.
They wanted to know more about how I managed to secure support and £50k funding from Imperial University to build a vision for what could become the largest community garden in central London.
That moment left me reflecting.
Over the last 18 months, I have been working with Reverend Andrew Willson to transform an old COVID test site into a new community space. The journey has been filled with pivotal experiences and challenges that have helped me develop a unique set of tools, allowing me to turn a vision for a green space into my current role as a project coordinator.
The tools I learned are transferable and they can be used to help turn your own vision into reality.
This article is the first in a series detailing the challenges and lessons learned in my journey to found RE:GEN @ Imperial. It explores the importance of respect in gaining stakeholder support, particularly from senior decision-makers. The article also highlights the importance of strong presentation skills, strategic partnerships, and “angel” allies in turning a vision into reality.
Lesson 1: Why Respect Matters
We like to think that people respect ideas for their intrinsic value and not for who says them. Sadly, this is not true. Our perception of the world is subjective, and so is our view of ideas. This means that our personal perspective, attitudes, and prejudices as well as external influences can stop us from working with certain people or from adopting particular ideas.
As an ambitious young student the age gap between me and the university stakeholders was a constant challenge. While I am fortunate enough to say that I was never directly discriminated against or dismissed on account of my age, sometimes getting people to listen to your ideas is like sending emails into the void.
It is embedded in our culture to respect those older than us. With age comes the presumption of wisdom, gained from years of experience, that should make judgements more reliable. Meanwhile, those in senior leadership positions at universities are tasked with supporting younger students. With the large age gap, respect sometimes flows only one way, which can lead to ideas from younger people being dismissed or deprioritized.
If your idea is mature and sensible, then how can we get people to respect it?
Crafting a Persuasive Pitch
First, you need to present your ideas formally and visually.
A well-crafted executive summary and pitch deck will not only help people visualise what you imagine but it allows you to refine and develop your own understanding of the project.
My executive summaries are always two-sides of one A4 sheet of paper with double columns. They follow a structured approach, using a framework I called the map of life with subheadings:
- Why?
- What?
- How?
- Whom we help?
- Who we are?
- What now?
This one-pager should succinctly deliver your plan in under five minutes. More importantly, it can be shared. People you speak with can send this one-pager to colleagues and senior leaders, helping support for your idea to grow organically.
However, no matter how sound or well-presented your idea, you still need the opportunity to present it. Landing that first meeting with a key stakeholder as a student can be a herculean task. As we established, people don’t respect ideas, they respect other people.
So, if your outreach attempts are not gaining the attention they deserve, how can you manufacture credibility?
Building Credibility with Allies
When I joined Imperial University in 2023 I wanted to continue my passion for gardening. My tenure as President of Edible Campus back at Lancaster University had made a lasting impact on my life, and so I was excited to find a poster advertising a “Gardening Club” in Imperial’s Chaplaincy. I decided to attend. There, I found that the Chaplaincy, together with neighbouring departments, had started a weekly informal gathering of students and staff. They had DIY raised garden beds and a small shed to run their informal efforts. The sessions were led by Reverend Andrew Wilson.
The Secret Garden at Imperial
It was Andrew that introduced me to the history of the Chaplaincy Garden, and to the Secret Garden situated behind it.
I still remember the goosebumps I felt when I saw it; almost three acres of privately owned urban forest, smack in the middle of South Kensington.
One-hundred-and-fifty-year-old trees towered over the four storey buildings that separated the courtyard from the rest of the city – creating an enchanting pocket of peace in the midst of the buzzing exhibition road.
What was Imperial doing with this space?
Nothing.
It had been an overlooked resource for almost three decades, and the signs of neglect and mismanagement were clear.
I remembered that in my closing speech as President of Edible Campus at Lancaster University, I had pledged to start a garden wherever I went. Jokingly I thought it would have to be on some rooftop somewhere in London, but here I was standing in acres of land with the potential to transform not just Imperial’s campus, but also the role of green spaces in higher education.
Turning Connections into Action
I developed an executive summary outlining my vision for the Secret Garden and the Chaplaincy Garden and shared my ideas with Andrew. He immediately resonated with the values of the project, as he had experienced something similar during his training. It was through this partnership and shared vision that the idea began to move into the realm of possibility.
When we both felt ready to turn the vision into a reality, Andrew arranged a coffee chat with a member of the senior leadership team in charge of the Secret Garden.
During the meeting, we all talked as equals and bonded over our passion for gardening. I shared my vision for the space, and that conversation opened new doors for the project. The senior leader connected me with other colleagues, funding mechanisms, and partners by echoing our vision and sharing our executive summary.
I was no longer just a student with an idea taking up the time of a busy executive. I was introduced as someone worth listening to. This introduction from an esteemed colleague instantly shifted the respect dynamics, enabling me to share my ideas as an equal.
The Power of a Strong Introduction
In the entrepreneurial world we call allies like Andrew “Angels”. They invest in you not because of financial returns but because of shared values; a shared belief in bringing your vision into reality.
Once you build this relationship, it can help you overcome the first key challenge of realising your vision – being heard.
Finding Your “Angels”
Finding angels isn’t easy. In fact, the harder you search for them, the rarer they become.
These relationships tend to happen organically, over long periods of time, after many conversations, and from the most unexpected places. By attending events, speaking to others, and sharing your ideas you show commitment to your ideas. Moreover, your effort proves that you are not just talking the talk but also walking the walk, which inspires confidence.
Once you find an angel, you must cherish the relationship. It is important to understand that an angel is not a means to an end, they are someone that cares about the same things you do. You must respect this bond by never betraying the trust they have placed in you. Every decision you make should align with your shared values and with the pursuit of the vision that the angel has pledged to support.
Next Steps: Mapping your Organisation
Now that you have been given the platform to be heard, who should you speak to first?
In the next lesson, we will explore how you can map your stakeholder ecosystem and identify the key people who can unlock success for your vision.
Emilio Garcia Padron is an MSc Applied Mathematics student at Imperial College London, specializing in Computational Dynamical Systems. He is a full-stack software developer and founder of NEA Studios. He is also a founder of RE:GEN @ Imperial, a project aiming to protect and expand Green Spaces on Imperial grounds that raised over £39,000 in funding.
Image: DALL-E
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