About The Roost
Who We Are
The Roost is a registered charity and everyone involved in it is committed to the flourishing of young adults in our beautiful county.
The Roost Team
Beth Rookwood
Founder & director, sixth form chaplain
Our team is led by Beth Rookwood, our founding trustee, certified holistic development coach, ordained pioneer minister in the Church of England and experienced youth, schools and young adults worker. Her team, which includes young adults, deliver the work of The Roost.
Angela Feather
roost community team
Angela lives in North Northumberland, and loves getting out in the hills & beaches. Often to be found with a cuppa in her hand & a board game on the table, her passion is connecting people & building community with them.
Rachel Coundon
meadow team
Rachel is born & bred in the North East, raising her family in the village right by the Roost Outdoor Space. A keen gardener with a love for the outdoors, she brings these gifts and her administrative experience to The Roost ops team!
Barney Rookwood
meadow team
Barney is our lead on cultivating the outdoor space. He is never happier than when mowing the lawn!
Elodie Hewes
safeguarding lead
Elodie is our designated safeguarding officer. With a Masters in Human Rights, Elodie helps us nurture a safe community to which a diverse range of people belong. In her spare time she loves to be out and about in rural Northumberland appreciating nature with friends and family.
megan primrose
sixth form chaplain
Megan is our most recent recruited Chaplain at Portland High School. She is a trained psychotherapeutic counsellor, writer and forest school leader. Megan is passionate about nature and empowering people, helping them flourish and grow. She finds joy in wild swimming, reading, learning new things, music and the arts.
Contact Megan
hilary elder
sixth form chaplain
Hilary is a Chaplain at George Stephenson High School, and is also a lay minister at St John’s Killingworth. She teaches English and is a writer of fiction and poetry. Hilary loves her family, running (slowly), laughing (loudly), being outdoors, young people, knitting and playing music: the trombone and the viola, but not at the same time.
Contact Hilary
caroline friend
sixth form chaplain
Caroline is our Duchess Community High School, Alnwick sixth form Chaplain. She has worked in the lower school as Chaplain for eight years and loves working with young people and supporting staff. In addition she is a co-minister at Alnwick Baptist Church with her husband Chris. In her spare time, you’ll find her happily working away on the allotment.
Trustees
As a group of trustees we are responsible for the overall running of The Roost. Between us we have many years of experience of working in healthcare, business and local authority professions, and in areas of both research and practical engagement with young adults.
Tara Russell
Tara and her family finally acted on their dream to move to the North East in the summer of 2021. They have been cultivating some vegetable beds at their new home, and enjoying living on one of the Northern Saint’s Trails. Tara is The Roost’s Chair of Trustees.
Nicola Taylor
Nicola has spent all her working life in the privileged position of supporting families and children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, and working with schools.
She lives in Newcastle and spends happy leisure hours walking with her family, friends (and four legged friend Barney) in beautiful Northumberland.
Michael Carson
Michael is our Treasurer – He lives with his wife Christina and two pugs, Meg & Belle, in Morpeth. They enjoy exploring the outdoors together as a family.
Sarah Keith
Sarah is our Trustee who helps with funding and research. When she isn’t looking for hidden woodland spots in Newcastle, she loves exploring the beaches of Northumberland.
What We Do
One-to-One Sessions
Having a safe person to talk to can be hugely helpful to people experiencing a tangle of thoughts and emotions. We work with many young adults offering this sort of listening support – over the phone, walking in a forest, sitting in a field. All sessions are confidential and are kind and gentle spaces intended to honour and support what the young adult is going through, and perhaps work with them to identify what their next steps might be. If you would like to arrange a conversation like this please contact Beth.
Workshops and Retreats
Being with others and exploring areas young adults frequently face can be a really helpful way of moving forward and growing in understanding. Workshops on subjects such as self-esteem, self-discovery and self-care offer really useful practices that can then be implemented into every day life.
Retreats exploring silence, soul-care and connecting with nature offer opportunities to take a break from usual rhythms to explore new ones. Time away can often mean our time ‘coming home’ is richer and more meaningful.
Social Activities
Outdoor Space
All of us at The Roost love being outdoors, and we have experienced first hand the healing power of nature. Most of our activities take place outdoors, and, for the first time, we have our own little piece of land that we are cultivating to make it ours. Come along to dig, sow, grow, weed, make fires, cook food and be part of a community who cares about looking after the land well.
Policies and Partnerships
As a registered charity we report to the charity commission in areas to do with good working practice. On a more local level, we partner with The Church of England and the Diocese of Newcastle, particularly in the area of safeguarding. Where we work in existing centres such as schools, churches or colleges, we establish partnership agreements which are agreed by all those involved. As The Roost Community we are one of the expressions of contextual Christian community within the Anglican Diocese of Newcastle.