The WFGA Today

The WFGA is a registered charity (212527) run by a Board of Trustees.

In 2020 the WFGA took the decision to change it’s working name to the “Working For Gardeners Association”.  The Association feels that this better reflects the work that we do in the 21^st century, helping anybody interested in horticulture to increase their skills and experience.  We will still keep The Women’s Farm and Garden Association as our formal name and maintain the respect that guided those original aims.

The Board of the WFGA is well established and each Trustee is elected for 3 years under the edit of the Charities Commission.  Each Trustee brings different skills to the Board and everyone offers their services on a voluntary basis;

Chair – Sue Reed

Sue first encountered the WFGA when she took up a WRAGs placement in 2003. After a number of years working as a professional gardener, she moved into horticultural education and spent 12 years as a Lecturer and Programme Leader at Brinsbury College. More recently she took on the role of Internal Quality Assurance for the college’s horticultural department, in addition to working for City & Guilds, moderating horticultural qualifications and for Lantra, assessing apprentices. Sue is a huge advocate of the benefits of a career in horticulture and a passionate promoter of horticultural education.

Treasurer – James McArthur

James is an insanely keen, amateur gardener and builder, with a restless penchant for new projects in preference to repeated maintenance.  Perhaps that hands-on passion is rooted in his New Zealand origins, but it has certainly blossomed in his North Wilts home which he has been developing with his family for the past 20+ years – work-in-progress.  James comes from a business career that has spanned investment banking to high fashion to retail, and from the structured environment of senior roles in large multinationals to the messy coal face of start-ups.  Now he calls his glasshouse his office.  He was delighted to take on the role of trustee and Treasurer for WFGA in 2023 in large part because of the potential to amplify the high quality, hands-on horticultural experience that the WFGA offers its members, WRAGS trainees and garden owners.

Trustee – Amanda Ponsonby

Amanda joined the WFGA as a Trustee in 2021 as a result of employing a WRAG trainee in her garden.  In 1988, Amanda and her husband moved to a house in the Cotswolds where they have very slowly developed the garden and recreated the kitchen garden.   It continues to be an ongoing project and since 2019, there has always been a WRAG helping her.  After an early career in politics, Amanda has immersed herself working for charities and her local community with events often taking place in her garden.  Outdoor education whether it be in gardens, in woodland or on farms is a subject close to Amanda’s heart.  With the decline of horticultural schools, the WRAG trainee scheme provides people with a great opportunity to get real hands on practical experience.  Amanda’s ambition is to make many more gardens aware of the benefits of offering a placement to a WRAG.

Trustee – Daniel Cartwright

Daniel joined the WFGA as a trustee in 2023 however his links with the organisation do not start there. He has been a member of the WFGA for years and a long time supporter of their work, and in his capacity as Head Gardener at Winterbourne House and Garden, Daniel has supported many trainees over the years and has even employed some to join his team of horticulturists.
Daniel’s love of horticulture started when he was a child, he was often found gardening with his grandfather and even competed in (and won!) a number of vegetable growing competitions. He went on to train at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, and later moved to nearby Winterbourne House and Garden where he worked his way up to Head Gardener. Today, Winterbourne Garden is a thriving 7 acre arts and crafts garden in the heart of Birmingham, filled with herbaceous borders, specialist glasshouses and trees and three National Collections.
Daniel retains a keen interest in historic landscapes and is also a member of the Landscape Advisory Committee for the Highbury Chamberlain Trust. He is a passionate advocate for the horticulture industry and those who work within it.

Trustee – Roz Chandler

Roz has built on a successful career in Marketing & Sales, she established Branch Communications in 2003 and grew the company into an innovative and profitable digital ‘think-tank’ agency. Roz developed cutting-edge digital strategies for clients . She currently works with SME clients as a part-time Marketing Director via The Marketing Centre and her own company, The Junction Group Ltd. Roz has a proven background as a digital marketing innovator and trendsetter as Director of Branch
Communications to credibly advise on marketing growth strategies while building key senior stakeholder relationships at board level to influence strategic decision making. Roz is using a lifetimes worth of experience and knowledge to work with those people who want to change their lives, either by growing flowers for profit or pleasure.  Roz is a fulltime flower farmer, trainer, and mentor.

The HQ office in Trull is run by 3 part-time staff; our Executive Officer and two administrators, who together support the Trustees and 20 Regional Managers:

Executive Officer – Julia Thorne

Julia is the Executive Officer of WFGA and has a wide experience in charity and business administration, computing, logistics, managing and planning graduate recruitment to name a few areas of speciality in her career.  She also has a passion for craft and runs her own glass jewellery business.  She has worked for a charity outsourcing company, with responsibility for the administration of a 300 year old charity.  She joined the WFGA in 2016 and enjoys the variety of work.  Julia is also our Workshops and Practical Skills Days co-ordinator and planner.

Administrators:

• Becky Coombes
• Alex Trapnell