Introducing the National Allotment Development Team

We’re all friendly people with a variety of skills. Meet our Team! 

Dr Nicola Perkins, Joint Wales Manager

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I have been with Social Farms & Gardens since 2018, live in the South-Eastern Valleys and jointly manage our many projects across Wales. As part of the Allotment Development Team, I really want to see more groups being able to access land for growing. I would love to help communities to create social enterprises to run and manage allotment sites, giving them the opportunity to become sustainable without the need for Local Authority support or grant funds.  I worked for Housing Associations for many years and think there is a real opportunity to work with them to create spaces for growing. Personally, I keep chickens, have my own established fruit trees & soft fruit bushes, and have a long-standing interest in permaculture and biodiversity.

Sarah Collick, North Wales Development Worker & CLAS Cymru Advisor

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I have been with Social Farms & Gardens for 12 years. I provide all sorts of development support to community growing groups – from land access and planning support to governance. I am actively involved in a new local allotment site I helped to set up – which also hosts a large community orchard. I have a smallholding in Gwynedd with fruit trees and polytunnels. I am happy to advise on the nuts and bolts of how to set up new allotment sites and how to manage issues arising on existing sites whether they be practical or administrative.

Lisa Williams, South Wales Development Worker & Edible Cardiff Coordinator

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I have worked at Social Farms & Gardens for 5 years and support community growing groups in South Wales. I am based just outside Cardiff. One of my current roles is to coordinate a network of community growers in Cardiff and provide opportunities to strengthen the network through regular gatherings, training sessions and workshops. I encourage groups to share knowledge and skills with each other through the quarterly gatherings and site visits. I also work for Renew Wales as a Local Coordinator, advising community groups on taking action on climate change. I am a Peer Mentor with Interlink and providing mentoring support to community groups in RCT. I have been a Green Flag Judge for Keep Wales Tidy for the last 3 years. I am a qualified Garden Designer and Horticulturist and run a small community garden and orchard in my village. I have had my own allotment for 11 years. 

Lucie Taylor, CLAS Cymru Co-ordinator

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I have been leading the Community Land Advisory Service Cymru for Social Farms & Gardens since 2013. I am here to provide advice and support on all aspects of land and planning. I’m usually found on my laptop looking over leases or helping groups submit planning applications. As you may imagine, I have remained very keen to increase the amount of land that is devoted to community growing across Wales. I’m a town and country planner by trade and worked in local government before catching the gardening bug from colleagues at this great organisation. I am now a passionate grower doing all things peat free, no dig and rainwater harvesting. I have had some small successes but lots of failures and continue to learn on the growing front every day!

Meggie Rogers Ryall, Wales Communications Officer

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I have been working for Social Farms & Gardens since 2019 and am based in the Rhondda Valleys, South Wales. One of my main roles is to share the great work that is going on in our local communities, including community garden/ growing groups, allotments, and everything in between. I have an allotment that I share with my Dad, where we grow our own vegetables to eat at home – the goal is to grow everything needed for our Christmas dinner this year! I also have a sustainable cut flower business called Blodau’r Cwm, we grow everything ourselves in an eco-friendly and organic way to sell in the local community. I love taking photographs, especially of gardens, flowers, and garden produce, so would be more than happy to take photos on Allotment sites to help spread the word of the good work going on!

Amy Hoidge Hughes, Wales Administrator 

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I have been working for Social Farms & Gardens since 2019 and am based in Cardiff. I am always on the end of the phone or email if you have any administration queries! I am new to the world of allotments but am keen at growing as much as I can in my very small city centre garden. My little boy loves helping out and tasting the produce when it is ready to eat!

Anne-Marie Pope, Development Co-ordinator

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I started working with Social Farms & Gardens in 2021, coming from a predominantly Arts & Culture professional background, but having been involved with my local Community Land Trust, Community Energy Group and allotments. I am usually to be found researching, tapping away at the laptop or cooking veg up for (or otherwise facilitating) my pre-teen. My work has mainly focussed on development: of individual organisations, of groups of organisations and of individuals. I was brought into the Social Farms & Gardens world as parental leave Project Co-ordinator cover on the Resilient Green Spaces project. I am delighted to have stayed on and I’m now working on the Allotments and Orchards strand of Resilient Green Spaces and co-ordinating the Welsh CSA Cluster. I am passionate about seeing allotment development – I started off myself on a micro-plot with support and took on a bigger plot, before I managed to move to a place with a bit of land I can grow on.

Jasmine Dale, Field Worker

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I have been involved with Social Farms & Gardens since 2021 as a Field Officer visiting local sites to offer advice and support, in particular those receiving Keep Wales Tidy garden packs. I live in West Wales and for many years had a large veg garden, glasshouses and a forest garden covering 2 acres. These days I spend much of my time supporting community groups and varied organisations to make the most of their green spaces and grow food well. My background is permaculture and running training on all aspects of creating a strong foundation for thriving ecosystems and people. I'm enthusiastic about good design, working with the landscape, and combining biodiversity with abundant food harvests. I look forward to working with the Allotment Forum, an exciting opportunity to establish resilient, flourishing food gardens across Wales and meet dedicated people from all walks of life.

Celia Williams, Field Worker

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Hello my name is Celia Williams, I am based in North Wales and have been a fieldworker for SF&G for many years now. I have always had a great interest in food which started during my years as a chef and later as a baker.  After having a family, my interests took a new direction and following a stint back in education, I took a post managing a community composting site for a social enterprise. Creating compost naturally led me on the quest for growing food at work, home and trying to find an allotment. The allotment for myself never happened but through starting a Garden Share Scheme, I was able to find my own space to grow as well as for many other people. Not long after came another project, I was always intrigued by the Incredible Edible idea, growing food in local unused spaces  with the local community, which eventually guided me to help start Incredible Edible Conwy.  Some 9 years later I still love the buzz I get from seeing areas of Conwy Town filled with vegetables and herbs and people actually picking the food. It's just so rewarding being able to connect with so many different people about growing and cooking food.  
 

Events

Includes our own training events and workshops, and selected events and training run by organisations in the sector we think might be relevant. We aim to share the buzz and keep you informed.