Experts and Ambassadors
We are privileged to work with some fantastic allotment, horticulture and food experts who help to share their expertise with our members and help to champion the allotment movement.
Our Patron - HM King Charles III
We are proud to have the support of His Majesty, King Charles III as our Patron. His deep passion for gardening, commitment to environmental causes, and steadfast dedication to preserving the UK's rich traditions make him an invaluable advocate for The National Allotment Society.
David Allison
David Allison is the Horticultural Adviser at The National Allotment Society.David has a farming background and is vice chairman of the RHS fruit, vegetable and herb committee and accredited RHS floral judge. He is also Chairman of the Vegetable Trials Forum at the new RHS Gardens at Bridgewater and an accredited National Vegetable Society judge and lecturer - amongst other things!
Erin Baker
Erin Baker is a chef, cookery teacher and food writer based in Stroud. She offers evening, 3 and 5 day courses, private classes and catering. Erin trained as a chef at the Occidental Arts and Ecology Centre in California and for four years was garden-to-kitchen chef for the centre's workshops and events. She specialises in vegetarian dishes, with a sustainable twist. She takes inspiration from across the globe to create delicious recipes using locally grown seasonal produce.
Erin has published a book called ‘The Veg Table’ full of delicious seasonal recipes - available to purchase via her website:
Zoe Claymore
Zoe is a RHS multi-award-winning Garden Designer and NAS ambassador. She brings with her a wealth of experience of designing gardens for growing and shares expertise on planning gardening spaces.She focuses on creating outdoor places with emotional connection and ecological integrity. Zoe won the 2023 Gold Medal, the ‘Best Get Started Garden’ and ‘People’s Choice Award’ at the 2023 RHS Hampton Court Flower Show.
As well as being NAS Ambassador, Zoe sits on the editorial board of The Garden Design Journal, the Society of Garden Designers publication. She offers garden design, planting design and garden consultation services to clients across the UK.
For more information, take a look at her website www.zoeclaymore.com:
Charles Dowding
Charles is an English horticulturalist and author who has pioneered modern no dig and organic soil management in the UK since 1983.
He is is a long standing supporter of The National Allotment Society and regularly shares his experience in the simple but powerful no dig method of gardening.
Charles lectures and runs courses on no dig gardening methods, writing for assorted newspapers and the BBC. He is described as the "Guru of No Dig" and has published over ten books on the subject. In 2021 the work was featured at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show.
For more information see his website:
Sarah Owen-Hughes
In previous work, she was a dedicated Bio-strategist at a large Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) facility, developing IPM policies to reduce pest and disease load and increase overall yields in a chemical free environment, and lectured in Horticulture for 15 years across Further and Higher Education settings in Yorkshire.
She is a member of the Royal Society of Biology; is a pilot scheme member of their Plant Health Professional Register; Fellow of Higher Education Academy; Northern Branch Member of Chartered Institute of Horticulture. She was external Examiner for the Eden Project & Kirkley Hall Horticulture Degree Programmes, and led the UK Erasmus participation in ANNIE - Aquaponics, New Novelty in Education collaboration in 2016-18. She was awarded the Branch Commendation from the Chartered Institute of Horticulture in 2023 for her contributions to Horticulture Education and widening participation in land-based careers.
Sarah co-curates the Human Gardener stage at the Harrogate Flower Shows, and guest lectures & speaks across the country on topics including 'Secrets of the Soil', 'Science & the Garden', 'What a Pest!' & 'Confessions of a Darwinian Gardener'.
Rod Weston
Rod Weston is an organic master compost expert, who operates a composting demonstration site with over 30 composting bins, wormeries and cooked food composters at Stokes Wood Allotments in Leicester. He runs our NAS composting Facebook group and is also author of ‘A Gardeners Guide to Composting Techniques’ published by Crowood Press.
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National Society of Allotment & Leisure Gardeners Ltd
Registered in 1930 under the Industrial & Provident Societies Acts no. 11144R
VAT No. 1212930 14
Patron HRH King Charles III
© 2022-2023 National Society of Allotment & Leisure Gardeners Ltd