Sunnyside CEO Awarded MBE
Sunnyside CEO, Keely Siddiqui-Charlick, has been awarded an MBE for her services to adult social care in The New Year Honours List 2025.
Over the last 15 years, Keely has transformed Sunnyside Rural Trust (SRT) from a small day service to a thriving peat-free plant nursery, horticultural centre and social enterprise that works with over 170 people with learning differences and other forms of neurodiversity.
Above left: Keely Siddiqui-Charlick; above right: Keely Siddiqui-Charlick and Garden Designer and TV Presenter, Arit Anderson, at Hampton Court Garden Festival 2024.
Under Keely, SRT has created numerous horticultural opportunities for vulnerable people, including the peat-free growing of perennial and bedding plants, for clients ranging from local government to world-famous garden designers (including Arit Anderson, above). SRT staff and trainees also offer gardening and design services as part of formal horticulture contracts and manage food growing for veg boxes over two acres of allotments.
Keely Siddiqui-Charlick with Sue Stuart-Smith, Alan Titchmarsh, Tom Stuart-Smith at The Orchard Nursery in 2024.
Away from horticulture, SRT trainees work in other areas of the social enterprise, for example in the cafés and farm shops and can also learn about animal care. Whatever activities trainees take part in, Keely’s team works with them to push the boundaries and expectations on what vulnerable people can achieve.
SRT trainees tending to bedding plants at our Hemel Food Garden site.
The SRT enterprise model ensures that the organisation can continue to grow and provide more and more resources and opportunities to support people. This model also shows what can be achieved and challenges perceptions of people with learning differences and other forms of neurodiversity.
Keely said on receiving the news:
“I am unbelievably proud to accept an MBE for supporting people with learning differences to find their brilliance and independence. It is a recognition of my passion and dedication but also all the amazing people I work with. There are so many people to thank but my family are always first, my partner and children, parents and wider family who are always there.
I have always worked with people with learning differences because I believe this group is so invisible and overlooked. It is my pleasure to support people to find their voice and self-advocate so they have a life and a place in their community.
Keely Siddiqui-Charlick and trainees celebrating Sunnyside receiving the HCPA Outstanding Achievement Award.
Sunnyside Rural Trust is an incredible organisation and as a team we have built something truly empowering and a positive force in this world. I believe everyone can make a difference through their actions but teamwork is the key to sustained impact. I am lucky to work with positive, dedicated and brilliant people.
Thank you to the following for their support to me and Sunnyside over many years: Robert Voss CBE CStJ, Hertfordshire Community Foundation, Hertfordshire County Council, Dacorum Borough Council, Step2Skills, and The Stuart-Smith family. There are many more organisations and individuals and I extend my heartfelt gratitude.”
Keely Siddiqui-Charlick with the Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire, Robert Voss CBE CStJ and the newly received Queen’s Voluntary Award for Service, 2021.
When Keely joined Sunnyside Rural Trust as CEO in 2009, she had worked with people with young people and adults with learning differences for much of her career, prior to holding senior development and operational roles for London-based charities. It was whilst working as a support worker in a residential home that Keely saw the difference someone can make to a person’s life when they are empowered and offered opportunities. She found it difficult to see people being written off and only seen for their disability and wanted to shine a light on each individual.
Keely has transformed a small day service into a ground-breaking and creative organisation offering opportunities in horticulture and social enterprise. It represents all the things Keely loves in the world: respect for the individual, kindness, quality provision, creating opportunities, entrepreneurialism, stewardship of the environment, care for animals and a can-do approach.
SRT now offers training and work experience for over 170 vulnerable people, helping people with learning disabilities to acquire skills in a number of rural activities. These include beekeeping, looking after chickens, growing a wide range of plants and produce, landscaping and garden maintenance.
Recent highlights include: being awarded The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service in 2021; in the same year our team growing perennial plants for Tom Stuart-Smith’s Hampton Court Garden Festival show garden; over the last few years we have designed and built a range of community gardens across Hertfordshire; last summer, in 2024, we grew the plants for Garden Designer and TV Presenter, Arit Anderson’s Peat-free Feature Garden at Hampton Court Garden Festival; 2024 also saw the opening of our fourth site, The Orchard Nursery located at Sue and Tom Stuart- Smith’s Serge Hill site.
Keely also undertakes work for the School of Social Entrepreneurs and uses SRT as an example to inspire other charities to move into trading and create employment opportunities for vulnerable young people and adults.
Contacts
www.sunnysideruraltrust.org.uk
For interviews, comment and hi-res images of Keely Siddiqui-Charlick please contact: Keely Siddiqui-Charlick T: 07545 590 939 keely@sunnysideruraltrust.org.uk Sophie McIntyre-Peters (PR): 07850027777 sophie@sunnysideruraltrust.org.uk