Find out about our speakers

 

Sara is a horticulturalist who spent many years working in ornamental horticulture before moving to Bristol and founding Incredible Edible Bristol. The organisation supports community gardening, good, ecologically sound horticulture and horticultural learning across Bristol and Greater Bristol.

Twitter; @saralimback

Twitter: @EdibleBristol

Instagram @Saralimback

Instagram @EdibleBristol

Facebook: Sara Venn the community gardener

Facebook: Incredible Edible Bristol

 

 

My talk will focus on the importance of making space available for gardening in communities, especially in cities where many people have no access to outdoor space, let alone a garden.I’ll talk about how, as an organisation, we support these gardens to ensure that they are community assets and have full ownership by the whole community.

 

 

Becky is an Ecologist, Botanist and kitchen gardener with a passion for growing food as naturally as possible. She works with natural systems to garden in a way that is environmentally friendly, eye catching and low maintenance. She helps others to understand the ecology of their gardens and the way that plants work to make gardening more intuitive and more interesting.

 

My talk will be about understanding soil as a living ecosystem. I will discuss how applying modern scientific wisdom to our gardening through the no-dig approach can not only make our lives easier, but also improve our sucess at growing organically. I will give some insight on how the soil ecosystem works and why looking after it is so important!

 

Instagram: @Sow_much_more

Facebook: Sow Much More

Youtube: Sow Much More

Podcast: The Seed Pod

 

 

Hello, I’m Richard Chivers. I’m an  allotment gardener living in Cardiff. I’m mostly found on our family allotment, wearing wellies and getting my hands dirty.

 

I began gardening in my mid-twenties and although I went into it to grow things to put in my stomach, I’ve learned and been rewarded by the entire experience of simply sowing a seed and watching it grow.

 

I adopted a No-dig approach  to gardening 5 years ago. It’s had such a positive transformation in the way I manage and enjoy my allotment.

 

 

You can find me:

 

Blog: sharpenyourspades.com

 

Instagram: @sharpenyourspades

 

Twitter: @spadesharp

 

Talk:

 

Like so many of us, I have a busy life with a full time job, a family and social commitments. Allotments require a commitment too and for me, having an allotment is hugely important for pleasure and my wellbeing. 

 

I want to share with you my story how adopting a No-dig approach to allotment gardening saves me time, reduces stress and allows me to enjoy the process of growing my own fruits and vegetables so much more.

On site on Tuesday and Wednesday

Cherry is passionate about biodiversity, organic gardening and growing things.  She shares this knowledge through teaching home gardeners no dig and organic growing methods, as well as helping 5 other admin on Steph Hafferty’s Facebook group, No Dig Gardening – Undug, which currently has over 27,000 global members.  Cherry runs online and face to face courses and awards complimentary places on them to schools and community gardens!  She is also co-founder of VegOut (a small market garden selling posh salad bags locally!) and opens her Welsh garden for various charities, including the National Garden Scheme, serving as an Assistant County Organizer for the Gwent region.  Follow her on Instagram @cherrysnodigveg or Facebook @oldllangattockfarm

About Cherry’s Talk:

Cherry will tell us about how she took on a 1.5 acre blank canvas less than 6 years ago and created a wildlife-rich, no dig, organic, flower and veg garden.  Much is said about veg gardening and no dig, but Cherry’s talk will focus on her flower garden and how it was created using a myriad of no dig techniques, and how it is currently maintained.  No dig enabled her to open it for the National Garden Scheme within just 4 years.  

Stephanie Hafferty

On site every day

One of the of the designers and the driving force behind the RHS No Dig Allotment Demonstration Garden, Steph kept the show on the road through all manner of set backs and complications

With 13 years experience as a no dig gardener, and growing her own for over three decades, she is the author of two books (another one pub. in 2022) and writes about and teaches about all aspects of no dig homesteading – taking no dig gardening beyond the kitchen garden! Having raised three children on her own on a low income, Stephanie shows how to grow fabulous food frugally.

Stephanie moved to Wales three months ago and is setting up a no dig garden there using less compost, and is working on new work projects including launching online courses in September 2021. 

Full Bio is here

Links to my social media are at the bottom of the page!

I founded the FB group No Dig Gardening – Undug with over 27,000 members

Charles Dowding

On site every day except Thursday

One of the designers of the garden, Charles has brought the enjoyment of no dig to a worldwide audience and his methods are used by huge numbers of gardeners, who rejoice in the simplicity, and time saved. He has written ten books with two more coming, and offers online courses in no dig and growing vegetables, through his website https://charlesdowding.co.uk 

Charles has an excellent You Tube channel with 467000 subscribers, and his Instagram Account has over 275,000 followers.