Recent Projects

  • Community Supported Agriculture (CSA).  I designed and delivered CSA Briefing Days for the Soil Associationthe Organic Centre Wales and the National Trust to build participants’ practical tools to set up and run CSA projects.
  • Being in at the beginning of Stroud Community Agriculture (see below) in 2001 inspired me to then work with 26 other start-up CSA projects across the UK.  These have included farmer-led projects in which existing farm businesses have asked for my help in building a support community around the farm and community-led projects in which I worked with the community to find the land and the farmer/grower to work it.
  • I have worked with 23 community groups to help them set up internet-based food hubs - many based on the Stroudco system (see below).  I also run workshops where I start by presenting the Stroudco story with a background photo slideshow.  I then run an action planning session to help groups adapt the Stroudco model to suit local needs.
  • Renewable Heat Premium Payments – Communities Scheme (RHPP2).  Commissioned by the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Energy Savings Trust, I worked with the Centre for Sustainable EnergySevern Wye Energy AgencyMarches Energy Agency and ChangeWorks to provide 45 community groups with a series of eight collaborative planning workshops which brought the community groups together to develop their delivery plans and make links to strengthen all their projects.  I designed and led the facilitation of the workshops in locations across the UK. 
  • ‘Affordable Warmth Summit’.  I designed and facilitated this Summit for Severn Wye Energy Agency (SWEA) to develop a new partnership delivery plan.  This project included providing facilitation training to SWEA staff so that they could co-facilitate the Summit with me.
  • I designed and facilitated a visioning and strategy planning session for Bedminster Energy Group to support the development of their community energy plan.
  • ‘Food People Place’.  I facilitated community groups to develop parish level local food and landscape strategies. A Natural England pilot project
  • ‘Future Now’.  I designed and facilitated a series of community stakeholder workshops as part of the Big Lottery's ‘Communities Living Sustainably’  programme which aims to inspire people to adapt the way they live, work and connect together to reap financial, environmental and health gains.
  • Founder member of Stroud Community Agriculture (SCA).  Member of the voluntary management group for 4.5 years.  Designed and ran several participatory community planning events.  Set up systems such as the workshare programme for low income members and Fruitshare which links SCA to a CSA project in Spain.  Set up an orchard group.  To date, I have dealt with over 150 enquiries, visits and requests for information from people wanting to replicate the success of SCA.
  • Founder member of Stroudco Community Interest Company. Worked with food producers and consumers to design the food hub as a producer-consumer co-op.  Ran a trial trade with 8 producers and 11 consumers.  Awarded £63,000 funding to support full trading and offer the co-op model to other interested communities.
  • Community Development Action Learning Groups.  Working for Stroud Social Enterprise Centre, I ran a series of Action Learning groups for local enterprises 
  • Intensive project facilitation (Countryside Agency)