Each one of our members of staff is committed and passionate about helping your business
Beren juggles two roles at Growing Well. One encourages people recovering from mental health issues to apply to volunteer with Growing Well, and then supports their progress within the enterprise. The other is an overall management role, making sure all the activities at Growing Well fit together properly and co-ordinating the finances and development of the organisation.
Clare joined Growing Well in May 2008 having (as she puts it) “hit the job jackpot”. She loves her work enabling and encouraging volunteers to work in the office and ensuring that the changing team of admin staff and volunteers run the very busy and varied operation efficiently.
James co-ordinates the growing activities at Growing Well. His aim is to develop a supportive, productive and thriving organic growing business that provides opportunities that excite and inspire people, whether you are eating fresh local vegetables, or weeding a bumper crop of parsnips.
Pauline joined the Growing Well team on the administration side when the project started in November 2004. Having previously worked as a primary school teacher she has developed the education programme for Growing Well atLow Sizergh Farm sharing her passion for food growing and farming with children and young people that visit the farm.
I work for the Soil Association as part of the Food for Life Partnership which transforms food culture in Schools. I coordinate Farm links for schools and community groups reconnecting them with where their food comes from and exploring the importance of local, organic and seasonal foods.
At Growing Well, I have enjoyed being a volunteer working alongside other volunteers and staff, completed a NVQ2 horticulture course and worked on the education visits and outreach workshops. I have a good knowledge and understanding of the many facets of Growing Well, a quality which benefits the Board of Directors.
I joined the Growing Well Board in 2009, having been a ‘fan’ for some time before that! I was, and still am, inspired by the way that Growing Well brings together the strands of local food growing and working to improve health and wellbeing. For the last ten years I have worked as part of the ‘service user movement’ in health and social care – promoting the involvement of people who use services to have increased influence on how their services are organised and delivered. During that time I have learned a lot of things from service users, including people in the mental health ‘system’, which influence how I look at issues brought for consideration of the Growing Well Board. I live with my family in Kendal.
Although not working at present, I am an Occupational Therapist with 20 years experience of working with people with mental health problems. This includes helping people to develop their skills and levels of activity in order to enable them to establish a healthy balance between self-care, leisure and productivity, which includes paid employment.
During this time I have also managed mental health teams (in the NHS) which have worked to help the rehabilitation and social inclusion of the people they served. Before this, I was professionally qualified as a general manager in the NHS for thirteen years when I gained wide experience in many aspects of strategic and operational management. The skills and commitment I bring to Growing Well arise from my clinical and management experience of working to help people overcome the barriers they face in returning to work after, or whilst managing, mental health problems.
I have been on the Board of Growing Well since its inception, and am the Board’s Champion for mental health. I thoroughly enjoy my work on the Board and feel privileged to have had this opportunity to work with such a dynamic and committed organisation.
My professional job is as finance officer for a local charity and this translates well with my duties as treasurer for Growing Well. I have been involved with charities and ‘Not for Profit’ organisations for many years in a financial capacity and have been able to assist the board in this area.
I worked within the accountancy profession for 15 years and gained membership to the Association of Accounting Technicians in 2003. Joining the board of Growing Well has been a new experience for me as I’ve never had any dealing with organic growing and the provision of mental health services. This area has been a steep learning curve but one that I have enjoyed and hopefully this has made me a better ambassador for the role of Treasurer.
After 20 years in adult community education in Cumbria, Lancashire and Humberside, I took early retirement and moved to Cumbria. Since 1992 I have been involved in aspects of the management of voluntary and non-profit organisations, partly as a tutor at Lancaster University and partly self-employed as a consultant and trainer. My recent work has been in organisational development with voluntary and non-profit groups in Cumbria, in trustee development and training, and as manager of a number of projects for Cumbria CVS.
As a member of the board of Growing Well, I have helped advise in the development of the training programme. I have a been trustee of Age UK South Lakeland (formerly Age Concern) since 2001 and a trustee since 2006 of an educational charity operating in southern Africa.
Would you like to join our team to help you build confidence in the workplace and get used to working with others. Get in touch with us to arrange a visit to the farm.
Would you like to collect a weekly bag of fresh, organic produce grown on the farm? Get your five-a-day from Growing Well.