Speakers

George became Chief Executive of the Tenant Farmers Association (TFA) 27 years ago in January 1997, having worked at the Ministry of Agriculture Fisheries and Food (MAFF) in Whitehall, London, and in the Country Landowners Association (CLA) headquarters.

George has represented the TFA on the Rock Review Tenancy Working Group and the Tenancy Reform Industry Group, since its formation, and was a member of Amaeth Cymru, the Welsh Government Strategic Framework Partnership Group for agriculture. He is a National Trust Specialist Volunteer on land-use and Governance issues, a Trustee of the Arthur Rank Centre and a Fellow of the Royal Agricultural Societies.

In 2022, George was presented the Farmers Weekly Lifetime Achievement Award and at the 2023 British Farming Awards, the Outstanding Contribution to British Farming. He is also part of the leadership team of the Reading Elim Pentecostal church.

Philip Lymbery is Global Chief Executive of the international farmed animal welfare environmental organisation, Compassion in World Farming (CIWF). He is visiting Professor at the University of Winchester in the UK, President of the Brussels-based umbrella body of nearly 100 leading animal welfare societies in Europe, Eurogroup for Animals, and is a founding Board member of the World Federation for Animals (WFA), a global membership organisation to represent the animal protection movement at intergovernmental level.

Philip is also a Leadership Fellow of St George’s House, Windsor Castle and Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.

He was appointed UN ambassadorial ‘Champion’ for the 2021 Food Systems Summit in New York and was appointed co-lead of the Summit’s Sustainable Livestock Solutions Cluster.

Philip is an animal advocate, naturalist, photographer, and author. He regularly writes and speaks internationally on animal ethics and the global effects of industrial agriculture (factory farming), including its impact on animal welfare, wildlife, soil and natural resources, biodiversity and climate change.

His most recent books include Farmageddon: The True Cost of Cheap Meat (Bloomsbury, 2014), Dead Zone: Where the Wild Things Were (Bloomsbury, 2017), and Sixty Harvests Left: How to Reach a Nature-friendly Future (Bloomsbury, 2022).

Cultivated Meat to Secure Our Future (Lantern 2023) co-edited with Michel Vandenbosch

Sue is the Chief Executive of the Food, Farming and Countryside Commission. Sue leads the organisation in its mission to bring people together to act on the climate, nature and health crises, through fairer and more sustainable food systems, and a just transition for rural communities and the countryside.

Sue’s background is in combined research and practice in leadership and organisation development for systems change, working with leaders across public, private and not for profit organisations, especially on complex partnership projects.

She is a Trustee of CoFarm Foundation and is an independent Governor at Royal Agricultural University. Living on an organic farm in Wales, Sue and her family raise livestock and farm for conservation.

Andrew Neal’s research is focused on understanding the integrated behaviour of plant-microbe-soil systems, with the objective of developing a theory of soil as an extended composite phenotype. His research places organic carbon at the heart of soil, noting that “despite carbon’s critical role, the mechanisms underlying carbon dynamics and the link to soil water and nutrient availability are poorly understood.” “The concept of soil is still a source of contention, with society struggling to grasp its complexity and the effective management of such a multifaceted system. Modern techniques, such as shotgun metagenomics and X-ray computed tomography, are being employed in conjunction with the extended phenotype concept developed by Dawkins, the emerging processual view of biology and critical systems theory.

This is enabling a radical shift in the way soil is perceived.” Neal is a regular public speaker and his work has been featured on BBC Radio 4’s Inside Science, at New Scientist Live events and podcasts, as well as at the Parliamentary ERFA committee. He maintains an international portfolio of research, collaborating with colleagues in Australia, China, India and Uruguay.

Based in Cornwall, Tom is an organic farmer and has worked as a livestock nutrition consultant for over 25 years. He farms around 600 acres with his wife, Nicola, where they put regenerative and biological farming into practice, running an Angus suckler herd and growing organic oats, barley and fodder beet.

Tom’s view of regenerative farming changed fundamentally in 2017 after working in The States with the ‘father of biological farming’, Gary Zimmer of MidWestern Bioag.

Passionate about the wide-ranging benefits of good grazing management, diverse cropping and soil health, Tom believes regenerative farming practices offer a win-win when it comes to farm profitability, public ecosystem services and the wider environment.

Tim Martin is the co-founder of Farm Wilder, a social enterprise that markets meat from farms with exceptional wildlife, and supports farmers in working more regeneratively and restoring biodiversity. Farm Wilder sells online, to butchers, and to restaurants across the South West and London.

Tim is also a freelance film producer, making films about wildlife friendly farming for Farm Wilder and its partners, as well as executive producing international wildlife films, previously for the BBC Natural History Unit and most recently for Netflix, with the Emmy award-winning series Island of the Sea Wolves

Matt worked with his Cornish butcher for 10 years in London, setting up a supply chain to London restaurants. His idea was to return to farm red ruby cattle and sell to the same restaurants via his butcher.

A chance visit to a brilliant jambon producer in Extremedura gave him a eureka moment. The meat from iberico pigs is so good because they walk a long distance in their earth life and then put on fat very quickly when entering acorn fields.

Matt realised there was potential to do something similar with cull ewes. He now mob grazes these older sheep, using them to increase productivity and biodiversity in his sward. His mantra is ‘watching is working’. His sheep get, on average, an extra six months of life.

They arrive on the farm very plain, and leave with a flavoursome fat cover. He sells to a good number of London restaurants via his butcher and business is growing rapidly.

He currently farms 100 acres of pasture. They have a large grant to develop agroforestry next winter and have taken on 20 acres of what will hopefully turn into culm grassland using the sheep. Matt has proven he can feed a lot of people with high quality meat, increase biodiversity and help the local economy.

Lara Honnor created Skool Beanz Children’s Gardening Club run from their very own No-Dig allotment in Chilthorne Domer near Yeovil in April 2021 after being inspired by Greta Thunberg and children around the world standing up for the planet in her Fridays For Futures movement. Lara had just finished a diploma in Social and Therapeutic Horticulture and had previously worked for Charles Dowding and wanted to recreate the magic of his beautiful market garden for children.

Now in its fourth year, Skool Beanz is thriving, teaching children aged 4 - 13 how to grow delicious veg, beautiful cut flowers and how to garden to help nature with plenty of upcycled art. The clubs run after school, at weekends and holidays. Lara’s dream is to have proper children’s gardens and gardening clubs all over the country and beyond.

Niels Corfield is an independent farming advisor and trainer. He works with producers and landowners to implement regenerative systems, across all farming types.

Lucy Noad qualified as a vet from the Royal Veterinary College in 2010. She enjoyed an early career in dairy consultancy with a particular interest in animal health and welfare and knowledge transfer to farmers.
Running Woodhouse Farm in Wiltshire with her husband Robert, Lucy moved to working on the farm full time. She has spent the last decade milking, together with planning and managing the farm’s infrastructure investments and the herd expansion to 200 cows plus a switch to autumn block calving.
Lucy now spends her time immersed in all things regenerative. She works closely with First Milk and the Naturally Better Dairy Group to farm the best way she can to regenerate the planet, also engaging with other farmers and the wider industry to both learn and show how dairy can be a force for good in the climate crisis.
And she says she’s never been happier!

As First Milk’s Chief Impact Officer, Mark Brooking is the driving force behind the dairy co-operative’s emergence as a leader in dairy sustainability, steering the decarbonisation of the supply chain starting on its members’ farms.

Mark was brought up on a small dairy farm in South Devon but was encouraged to look beyond the home farm and moved in the agricultural supply chain, starting as a cattle specialist.

Early on, Mark recognised the opportunity given to farmers by successful co-operatives and was part of the team which established Milk Link, where he was membership director.
Leaving seven years later, Mark worked as a consultant in the food and fabric supply chain with organisations such as Patagonia, Textile Exchange and Ikea to develop global environmental and animal welfare standards.

By now, Mark had also taken on management of the home farm and within a couple of years, had won the regional NFU biodiversity award in recognition of the work done to improve habitats.

Mark became membership director at First Milk in 2017, seeing it as an opportunity to put into practice all he has learnt through his career. He says it is about championing how farmers can be part of a successful food chain while protecting and enhancing nature and the world we live in.

Ian Wilkinson co-founded FarmED in 2013 and is the owner and Director of Cotswold Seeds Ltd. Ian is passionate about sharing knowledge of regenerative farming methods to capture carbon and improve the fertility of our soils. He is an advocate of mixed farming systems and especially those that incorporate diverse grass leys as part of their crop rotation.

Ian conceived FarmED, a not-for-profit demonstration farm centre in the Cotswolds, to be at the heart of local, regional and global agroecological transition. Last year, FarmED won the prestigious Ashden Award for Future Farmers, among other local and national awards. Since FarmED’s official launch in 2021, by King Charles, then HRH Prince of Wales, Ian and his team have welcomed over 25,000 visitors per year, who have included thought leaders and policy makers, scientists, academics, food industry, land agents, advisors, farmers and growers and the local community.

By championing farmers, leading inspiring farm walks and providing courses and events in a neutral space for debate, Ian works passionately to highlight how we can regenerate farming and food systems that nourish people and how we can do this within the limits of natural resources.

Martin is an arable farmer and contractor in South Cambridgeshire, His special interest is in farm conservation management, and he currently runs ELS and HLS and Countryside Stewardship schemes on land he manages.

Martin is Chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network UK and looks to sharing best practices and demonstrating what can be accomplished for nature and the environment while producing great produce. With the demands of climate change, reaching Net Zero is even more important and Martin wants to champion how this can be achieved through nature friendly farming whilst supporting and help to maintain profitable farming businesses.

Silas Hedley – Lawrence is a regenerative farmer, coach & consultant with a decade of experience in regenerative agriculture. Formerly farm manager at FAI Farms and English Farm, Silas has experience in both commercial and direct selling models. With ties to New Zealand through his family dairy farm and kiwi fruit orchards, he maintains an emphasis on lean, profitable farming systems that also deliver on increasing biodiversity and soil health gains. Find out more at grassfedfarmer.com.

A sixth-generation farmer with a first-generation spirit, George Ford, along with his family, runs Nempnett Pastures. This small family farm, nestled in North Somerset, prioritises ethical and sustainable practices. George boldly transitioned from intensive, indoor pig rearing for commodity markets to raising high-welfare beef and poultry sold directly to end consumers. Inspired by nature; Nempnett Pastures balances producing nutritious food with environmental stewardship. They showcase their dedication through open farms, farm tours, and farm feasts – all fuelled by George's passion to reconnect people with their food.

Rebecca has been combining practical work as an organic grower and farmer, with research, campaigning and planning support for over twenty years. As the Landworkers’ Alliance Horticulture Campaigns Co-ordinator, she is author of “Horticulture across Four Nations” (2024), which sets out a vision for stimulating a market garden renaissance to increase UK domestic vegetable supply, and is the facilitator of the Defra Horticulture ELMS Test and Trial, “Growing the Goods. She is also a founder member of the Agroecology Research Collaboration, which aims to bring the research needs of agroecological farmers, growers and foresters to the attention of academics and funders, and build research relationships based on equality and mutual respect.

Jerry has experience in arable and mixed farming having run the family farm in Devon for 25 years. The farm was initially a dairy farm eventually converting to organic and being run as a beef, sheep and arable unit. At the same time, he converted a range of farm buildings into a holiday cottage complex, was chairman of a local farmer owned co-op grain store and became involved in the grain supply chain nationally.

Jerry is interested in a systems approach to farming and looks at farms as a whole system rather than just a mix of enterprises or a series of crops in rotation. He is also looking at options to reduce cultivations within organic rotations and the adoption of more agroecological and organic type systems in non-organic farms.

Holly was brought up on a small organic dairy farm in Somerset, that foundation allowed the ethos of working in partnership with land and nature shape the foundations of career choices.
Holly has worked for Somerset Wildlife trust and The National Trust before returning to Farming as a tenant farmer. She farms 200 acres of permanent pasture and herbal lays with cattle, sheep, goats and chickens. She sits as a Trustee for Somerset Wildlife Trust and Vice Chair for England for the Nature Friendly Farming Network.
The farm has developed over the past five years to create a farming model that is aiming to be resilient to future climate change, with planting of wood pasture, silvopasture, water retention work and restoration of grasslands. The farm is driven to reverse biodiversity decline that has happened and is engaged in HLS and SFI.
The farm produce meats for their farm shop and seasonal food events, alongside partnership working with Good Vibe Veg, a CSA veg scheme now based on the farm.
Holly also delivers on farm education sessions for local schools and community groups to encourage a greater involvement and understanding in our landscapes for all.

My regenerative shifts began when I moved onto a small narrowboat at age 16, my first independent home! Learning hands on the cultures and practice of Earth care and People Care, I began living the question of how my gifts, passions and responsibilities can intersect. Alongside 4 years studying social change, economics and sustainability, then a Masters in Regenerative Food, Farming and Enterprise, I have been on a parallel journey with land, growing and practical regeneration. Amongst other start-ups and projects, my core work has been establishing Middle Ground Growers CIC from a single seed, an idea, into a successful regenerative farm and 200-member veg box scheme, employing 7 people and training 3 new growers every year. Combining the practical skills to start and manage a farm (the Hands), with the understanding of economics, social change and psychology (the Head), and the lived experiences of movement building, governance, community and people care (the Heart).

Nikki is Head of Research at Pasture for Life, and a first-generation farmer based in NE Scotland, where she co-runs Grampian Graziers – working with local landowners to graze cattle for ecological and biodiversity benefit, whilst selling 100% pasture and tree-fed beef to the local community.
Nikki is currently undertaking a PhD in Agroecological Transitions and has interests in Holistic Management, agroforestry, and connecting folk with their food.

Zoe is a fashion ecologist and tex­tile systems designer. Combining experience of the mainstream fashion industry with regenerative agriculture, she explores how livelihoods focusing on collaboration, ecology and bioregionalism can support placed-based fibre and textile economies. Her focus is on natural material production, connecting food with fibre and developing new forms of governance and enterprise that work fairly for people and the ecosystems in which we reside.

Zoe works on projects with both wool and bast fibres with South West England Fibreshed. She is also a member of transformative fashion collective, Fashion Act Now, who are trying to change how people engage with fashion both as a concept and in practical terms. She recently founded not-for-profit Liflad CIC and the Bast Fibre Network to support the development of small-scale flax and hemp production in the UK.

Luke created The Carbon Farm in 2019 to bring hemp to mainstream agriculture by introduction as a break crop and showcasing regenerative principles for farmers to imitate, to improve their soils’ health. His reasons are based solely on climate change mitigation and how mass cultivation of industrial hemp will sequester carbon back into our soils whilst the raw material can help bring an end to deforestation and provide industry with a much needed sustainable material choice for our future generations.

Nigel recently retired as Head of Horticulture at Cannington but continues to work in the industry as National Lead Assessor for horticulture apprentices, as an examiner for the RHS and as a tutor and course writer with specific interests in organics, permaculture and wellbeing. He is a passionate advocate of sustainable and resilient horticulture and currently runs a small community permaculture project near Wells and is also involved in a new agroecology project at Bridies Farm in Glastonbury. He has previously delivered courses on sustainable horticulture at Yeo Valley Organic Garden and is a qualified garden designer.

Stephen is the third generation in his family farming in South Northamptonshire and started his journey into regenerative agriculture in 2000.
As one of the founder members of BASE-UK, Stephen joined because he wanted to meet with likeminded people who would give him the confidence to continue with changing his farming practices.
He now farms with his wife Rebecca, son David, and daughter-in-law Jess. They have re-introduced livestock into the arable system to enhance the soil even further by mob-grazing cattle and over-winter grazing of cover crops. They are using schemes to help pay for proper fencing of fields to ringfence the land.

ffinlo is the Editor-in-Chief of 8point9.com and has worked in farming, land and food business policy for over 20 years. As Chief Executive of Farmwel (2016-2022) he gave evidence to UK parliamentary committees and advised ministers and the Committee on Climate Change on the role of agricultural climate gases. ffinlo founded the Food & Global Security Network in 2020 and published Soil Health: A security threat profile, prior to COP26. ffinlo has presented at the European Parliament and advised ministers and senior leadership teams in many European countries. His TEDx Talk, 'We can't solve the climate crisis without cows', has proved highly popular with regenerative farmers and innovators.

Abby Allen is Director of Farming at Pipers Farm and the author of The Sustainable Meat Cookbook. She is also a trustee for Devon Wildlife Trust and represents the Nature Friendly Farming Network as a Farming Champion. Abby is a passionate campaigner for sustainable, fair farming and is committed to providing a voice - and a positive future - for small scale, family farms.

Abby Rose is a farmer and soil health advocate, the co-founder of Vidacycle: making apps that support farmers to take a more regenerative approach to farming, including the Soilmentor Regen Platform in partnership with Nicole Masters. Abby is also co-creator of Farmerama Radio: an award-winning podcast sharing the voices behind regenerative farming. Based in the UK, Abby splits her time between working on her family farm, Vidacycle Farm, in Chile, and visiting farms on multiple continents learning from soils and understanding what it takes to build a more ecological farming future.

Alexander Godfrey is a seasoned professional in the field of natural capital, regenerative agriculture, and climate finance, with over 10 years of experience in investment banking and environmental consulting. He holds an MSc in Global Energy and Climate Policy from SOAS University and a Harvard Negotiation Training certification.

Ben has worked in the commercial growing world for nearly 30 years and has a wide range of practical horticultural experience, starting his career growing vegetables for chefs, box schemes and farm shops. He now focuses mainly on integrating trees into farming systems.

He is Head of Agroforestry for the Soil Association and keeps his hand in on the field implementing a pioneering agroforestry system on a 1500 acre farm in Wiltshire.
He also works as an independent advisor, trainer and author, writing books for children and grownups, including most recently “Silvohorticuture”, “The woodchip handbook” and “Plant a tree – retree the world”

Caroline Grindrod is a pioneering regenerator with over 20 years of experience in applying regenerative principles to lifestyles, landscapes and businesses. She co-founded Primal Meats and Wilderculture CIC, and runs Roots of Nature LTD.

Roots of Nature LTD is a dynamic small regenerative business with a big impact dedicated to fostering a regenerative culture that acknowledges, supports, and values living systems. With a focus on driving change through communication, training, business strategy and creating influential networks. RON uses a regenerative design approach to help address societies complex challenges and work towards a more sustainable future. RON takes a 'whole system' strategic approach engaging at various levels of the food and farming industry to promote systemic change across the system.

This year, in collaboration with Clare Hill from Planton Farm, Caroline launched the Roots to Regeneration program. This year-long regenerative transition package for farmers and professionals represents a decade of research and development aimed at empowering key individuals in the food and agriculture sector to achieve systemic regeneration for people, place, and planet.

Cerys Dehaini is an Architect and Regenerative Design Consultant with a deep commitment to sustainable and community-centred design. As the Director of Squirrels Architecture, she leads a practice dedicated to creating spaces that harmonise with the environment and foster strong social connections. Cerys lives on Higher Barn Farm, where she and her family have transformed the land through permaculture design into a diverse and abundant agroforestry system. This includes a no-dig community market garden that not only supplies fresh produce to the Roadwater community but also offers education and hands-on experiences in ecological food systems and field-to-fork processes.

Beyond her architectural work, Cerys is the Co-Director of With the Wild CIC, a social enterprise rooted in the values of community resilience, environmental stewardship, and nurturing connections between people and nature. She also co-directs the Good Vibe Veg CSA project at Horner Farm, promoting sustainable agriculture and food sovereignty. This November, at the LandAlive Conference at the Bath and West Showground, Cerys will co-host a workshop on Community Supported Market Gardens, where she will share her experience and passion for regenerative, community-driven food systems.

Charlotte Hollins manages the Fordhall Community Land Initiative (charitable
community benefit society) which owns Fordhall Organic Farm, North Shropshire. Charlotte grew up at Fordhall and after leaving university, in 2006, she led the high-profile campaign working with many volunteers that saved Fordhall Organic Farm from industrial development, raising an amazing £800,000 in less than 6 months through the sale of £50 non-profit making community shares. Now England’s first community owned farm, Fordhall is a national asset and a pioneering example of what can be achieved when people care about the countryside and work collaboratively to safeguard it.

The Fordhall Community Land Initiative leases the farmland to tenant farmer, Ben Hollins
(Charlotte’s brother), who manages the livestock and farm shop on an organic and pasture-
fed livestock system. As the landowner, the Fordhall Community Land Initiative utilises the
land for community benefit through free farm access, events, volunteering opportunities, a
care farm, youth project, cafe, or educational visits. It employs 30 local people and is grateful
to the support of 100 volunteers annually.

The vision is to show that small-scale farming connected to the community can offer a viable
way of life for generations to come. The farms mission statement reads ‘We believe that by
restoring connections between hearts, minds and the soil, we will encourage and create
meaningful change, which helps build health and resilience within people and planet’.

She qualified at Leeds University Medical School in 1982, and worked as a junior doctor in General Medicine, Surgery and A&E. Disillusioned with conventional medicine’s inability to heal sick people, and its failure to enquire about the causes of illness or to do preventive healthcare, she left. But, in the 1990s, she was lucky enough to discover the British Society for Ecological Medicine, a group of doctors and other practitioners who practise nutritional and environmental medicine. They were asking the same questions that had gone unanswered for her throughout medical school. And they were finding answers, helping their patients to attain dramatically better health through changes in diet and nutrition, and through detoxification. Jenny trained with the BSEM’s post-grad course, and qualified in Ecological Medicine, learning in depth about the nutritional and environmental factors that affect our physical and mental health, and passing this information on to her patients and students.

Having studied the environmental history of hundreds of patients, she is now deeply committed to explaining the bigger picture – that what we are doing on our farms and elsewhere on our planet profoundly affects the food we eat, the water we drink and the air we breathe, and therefore affects the health of our bodies and minds. This could be summed up as a transition from Pharma to Farmer (Jenny does have a small allotment).

Jenny is the author of two books:

• “Staying Alive in Toxic Times: A Seasonal Guide to Lifelong Health”, published in Jan 2020 by the Yellow Kite imprint of Hodder & Stoughton. (Since this book’s publication she has been on numerous podcasts from around the world and is in high demand as an interviewee and a presenter of live talks and webinars.)

• “Getting Healthy in Toxic Times: An Ecological Doctor’s Prescription for Healing Your Body and the Planet”. Published in July 2024 by Chelsea Green. This book explains the role of environmental pollution in creating our current epidemics of chronic, degenerative diseases, all of which are preventable if we can clean up our act on Planet Earth.

Ed manages a grassland family farm on the edge of the Mendips. The farm produces forage to sell and is on an agroecological journey guided by regenerative practices with a focus on how the farm can proactively combat climate change by holding water and carbon in the landscape and encouraging a thriving and biodiverse habitat. The farm also hosts creative workspaces, wild camping and has a gathering space for groups of people who want to reconnect with the natural world.

Ian has a lifelong involvement in all things soil, growing up on an organic farm, working in various roles helping farmers understand their soils. His present role is General Manager of Sustainable Soil Management. Over the last 20 years Ian has developed the most detailed soil test, which is widely used throughout the UK and Europe, allowing farmers a greater understanding of how best to manage their soil. Ian delivers soil presentations that are practical and engaging. Ian works across all sectors of agriculture building long term relationships between himself, the farmer and their soil.

Jake is a certified lab technician with Dr Elaine Ingham’s Soil Food Web, and has a range of experience on ecological projects, with training in dryland restoration techniques to reverse the desertification process occurring in many parts of the world. This has provided him with an essential mix of skills to build resilience into UK agricultural systems, including the use of soil microscopy to guide soil regeneration. His background spans the fields of ecology, soil microbiology and ethnobotany which he uses to transfer the knowledge learned of soil biodiversity and living systems into UK agriculture.

I am a small-scale farmer in south Devon running a social enterprise called Common Flora. We grow some food for local shops and perennials for our volunteers to enjoy but our produce is largely non-food, harvested and processed on site. We are 2.2ha/5.5acres site and certified organic. Half the site is planted to young mixed woodland where 11 species each have their own business plan. The woodland forms the perimeter and provides shelter with understorey planting of other useful species.

I am running a collaborative project with 2 other local social enterprises supporting 5 more local farming families, linking them with people facing food poverty and seeking solutions to food insecurity and decline in biodiversity. Please see this link https://www.commonflora.co.uk/abundantlife
I am an ethnobotanist with BSc Plant Biology from University of Wales Bangor and MA Environmental Anthropology from Goldsmiths, University of London. I have conducted ethnobotanical action research among a women’s farming co-op in high Andes, with Welsh speaking women on Anglesey and among Eastern European women living in this country. I am a northerner but have lived in Devon and Cornwall most of my life, a mum and a grandmother.

Jess is on a quest for self-sufficiency. She grows almost all her own vegetables and keeps chickens, bees & ducks. She is even trying her hand at growing barley and hops and brewing beer this year! Motivated by the hugely positive impact gardening has had on her own life, Jess is on a mission to inspire & help others to get growing. In February 2023, Jess started @happy_smallholding with the aim of helping people to grow food. She places a strong emphasis on growing organically, showing people how to promote biodiversity on the veg patch to foster resilience and productivity. She shares the highs and lows of semi-self-sufficient smallholding life.

Previously a Vet in the UK and Canada, Lucy is now an award-winning Nutritionist with a MSc in Nutrition from King's College London. With over 30 years of experience in health, food and farming, she’s part of a passionate community of health professionals and food producers, learning from natural ecosystems, to make better health a reality. Previously a lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics, Lucy is also founder of The Gut Project, communicating on the power of real food and its provenance to restore health and wellbeing via our microbiome. Ambassador for Love British Food and delivering Nutrition training for Health Practitioners, Lucy lives on the edge of the Chiltern Hills with her RAF husband, two teenagers and Ruarie the border terrier.

Manda Brookman has been working in Cornwall for the last 20 years in the field of change, resilience and creative disruption. Prior to moving to Cornwall, she worked on a range of third sector organisations over 12 years on local, national and international programmes around social and climate justice, with a focus on networking and communications. Once in Cornwall she co-founded CoaST, the One Planet Tourism Network, with over 3,000 members across 50 countries, and the Café Disruptif network providing support for social justice and environment "creative disruptors", with great focus on the intersection between the climate, social and ecological crises. Her work at the moment is focused on the health and climate crises, and how the best way of getting to grips with them is to work on projects which address both at the same time – and as one splendid example in action, how access to good food, grown well, by the community for the community, is delivering human, community and planetary health benefits. She reckons our community grower network is our natural immune system – and worth every ounce of our collective effort to nourish!

Rhiannon Alcock is a full time educator and grower living in Devon. Through working with vulnerable families and those experiencing food poverty throughout her career, she became inspired to set up a community vegetable garden to serve those in need. Devon Dig and Donate was set up in April 2024 and is a new community growing project based in Broadclyst near Exeter. Their mission is to provide fresh, nutritious produce to food banks and other community food action organisations supporting those in need in and around the Exeter area. The aim is not just to provide fresh food for families and individuals, but to equip and empower the community with the skills they need to be able to grow, harvest and use fresh produce themselves. Rhiannon speaks honestly about both the challenges of setting up such a project, and the unexpected moments of joy along the way. Sharing top tips and advice, this is a must hear for anyone interested in setting up a community project themselves.

Rob is a sixth-generation farmer and professional ecologist farming in partnership with his girlfriend, Lizzie Hulton-Harrop. They use Holistic Management to inform their farming practice and as a result integrate planned grazing on the 1000+ acres of diverse pasture they graze with their Pedigree Angus herds.

Sally Morgan is an experienced organic, no-dig gardener, who loves to experiment and trial new plants, especially edible ones. With a background in botany and ecology, she has always gardened naturally and is passionate about creating a growing space that it not just healthy and productive, but is rich in biodiversity. She has travelled widely, both in the UK and further afield, seeking out ideas and inspiration that can be incorporated into her own walled garden. She is the author of several books on resilient gardening and the former editor of Organic Farming magazine for the Soil Association.

Sarah is a ‘steward’ farmer on the Ecological Land Cooperative (ELC) 20-acre site at Wyvern Fields, Sparkford, Somerset.

She is a partner/owner of Cider Apple Trees, a specialist apple tree nursery that is growing and saving heritage, traditional south-west apple trees for cider, eating, cooking and juicing.

Sarah is a member of the Cider and Orchards Committee for the Royal Bath and West Agricultural Show. She is always happy to represent the ELC as an example of the need for access to land for smallholders and land-based businesses.

Simon joined the Trust from Natural England, where he was responsible for managing six of their National Nature Reserves in Somerset, including those on the Somerset Levels. With this invaluable experience, his role at the Trust is, with the support of its science and data resources, to pioneer the development and delivery of the Trust's Nature Recovery Network strategy - the aim of which is drive county-scale biodiversity net gain by enhancing and connecting species-rich habitats within which wildlife can thrive, that people can connect to, and that restore a healthy and vibrant natural environment capable of adapting to a changing climate.

Tim Coates is a 3rd generation farmer - currently in aggressive regenerative agriculture transition. He is a Director of the North East Cotswold Farmer Cluster community interest company, England’s largest farmer cluster and is also the Managing Director of the Evenlode Landscape Recovery - the cluster’s Natural Capital Special Purpose Vehicle. Tim was the co-founder and Chief Customer & Regulatory Officer of Oxbury Bank Plc, the UK’s only dedicated bank for food, farming and the rural economy where he implemented a Responsible Impact and Natural Capital approach to strategy, including being the first UK Financial Institution to fully disclose under the TNFD framework. He has advised numerous financial institutions on interactions with the rural community, including contributing to reports and research by Bankers 4 Net Zero and the Green Finance Institute. He also sits on the Board of the Oxfordshire Local Nature Partnership.

Tim has over 20 years experience within farming and associated systems – dairy, arable, deer, sheep & beef; both growing and processing; conventional and organic; large scale and small. This mass of experience has allowed the development of a wide range of experiential and theoretical knowledge, a key strength being his deep understanding of regenerative and low-input farming practices that work closely with natural systems and place soil health at the core. More recently he has completed the Nicole Masters CREATE program, a 9 month long deep dive into agroecological and regenerative farming systems. Since completion of the program Tim works within an advisory capacity through his organisation Earth Farmers, working with farmers on a context specific approach to transitioning their farming systems.