CIH Conference - Skills Summit 2026

Martin Emmett

Chair, NFU Board for Horticulture and Potatoes, NFU/Farplants

Martin was re-elected in March 2026 for a third term as Chair of the NFU Board for Horticulture and Potatoes. He is a Director of a large nursery business in West Sussex and a Trustee of the LSA Charitable Trust. His career history includes two terms on the AHDB Board for Horticulture and Vice-Chairmanship of the IFATE Route Panel for Agriculture, Environment and Animal Care. He currently chairs the Education and Employment Working Group of the Environmental Horticulture Working Group.

Mike Maunder

Executive Chair, Kew Reach Ltd

Mike started his conservation career studying horticulture and botany at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, later doing a PhD on the conservation management of threatened plants with the University of Reading.

Mike has worked with some of the most threatened species and habitats on the planet, having worked on species conservation and ecological restoration in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, USA, and Hawaii. Mike has worked with businesses looking at biodiversity impacts and opportunities for biodiversity gain. Before Mike joined Kew Reach he was Executive Director of the Cambridge Conservation Initiative with oversight of the Endangered Landscapes Programme - one of Europe’s largest restoration initiatives. Mike is a board member of the Mohamed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund (UAE) and the Conservation Collective (UK), a scientific advisor to the Fondation Franklinia, and a frequent collaborator with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership (CISL).

Ryanne Rustenburg

Trend analyst-Coalition builder-Program director, IRIS-by-Ryanne

Ryanne is a leading trend researcher and program director at the forefront of sustainable innovation and human capital in the agri-food and horticulture sectors. As the Program Director of Greenchain NH, Program Manager Human Capital for NextGen High Tech Agri-Food, and a driving force at Groenpact, Ryanne specializes in bridging the gap between education, industry, and government (the triple helix). Raised in the agricultural heartland, she combines a passion for the sector with her experience aligning diverse stakeholders toward shared, future-proof ambitions. 

With a background as a lecturer in entrepreneurship and leadership, Ryanne possesses unique insights into the human capital challenges and skills shortages facing the green domain. She is a firm believer that the future of horticulture depends on empowered, adaptable talent and meaningful work. Known for her energetic leadership and strategic insight, Ryanne will share how collective action and public-private partnerships can translate a vision for green education into concrete, impactful action.

Dr Owen Doyle

Managing Director, Bio-Logic Ltd

Dr Owen Doyle is a Chartered Horticulturist and a former Associate Professor and Head of Horticulture at University College Dublin and the UCD Horticulture programme at Guangzhou Dublin International College (GDIC) in China. He is chairman and Managing Director of Bio-logic Ltd, a technical consultancy company servicing state, semi-state and commercial organisations in Ireland, the EU, and North America. He has extensive experience in horticultural education, research, and industrial advisory functions.  Owen graduated from the National University of Ireland with a PhD in Plant Pathology, having studied in University College Dublin and Cornell University, New York. He obtained a 1st Class honours degree in commercial horticulture from UCD. He holds an ACOT National Certificate in Horticulture and the General Certificate in Horticulture from the Royal Horticultural Society, London. 

He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture and is a member of the Institute of Biology of Ireland and the Society of Irish Plant Pathologists. He has worked in the biotechnology research sector and managed mushroom, plant, veterinary and human biotech research groups. His own research has focused on the cultivation and pathology of the commercial mushroom Agaricus bisporus, and horticulture food crops. For more than a decade, he has worked on the use of green wastes and recovered industrial wastes for use in commercial and retail horticultural peat-free and peat-reduced plant growing media. He conducted research on alternatives to peat in mushroom casing and commercial funded research on peat replacement for plant growing media. He has experience in food safety, food standards, certification, and accreditation schemes.

He co-authored the DAFM-commissioned report titled “Horticulture Education Review 2025” and has recently been appointed to Chair the Horticulture Education Leadership Group (HELG), an all-island initiative to promote horticulture education and careers. He is currently the Ireland Representative to the Council of the International Society Horticultural Science (ISHS).

Sarah Cathcart

Director of Learning & Engagement, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh

Sarah joined Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) in April 2024, as Director of Learning and Engagement, where she oversees the development, implementation and coordination of global learning and engagement programmes. She currently also covers Horticulture, Visitor Welcome and HR as part of her portfolio.

Sarah previously held roles at Longwood Gardens, Pennsylvania, USA, as Vice President of Engagement and Learning and as Head of Education for the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), leading the national education programmes and RHS qualifications.

She is the current chair of the UK Future of National Gardens Green Skills Group. Other previous experiences include being a trustee for the Greater Brandywine YMCA (Board Chair), RBGE (Trustee) and Seed Your Future (US National Leadership Cabinet). She is also a member of the John Sales Fellowship Advisory Group.

Steve Fowkes

Senior Adviser - Sector Capacity, Forestry Commission

Steve started off working for a charity in the conservation sector, teaching vocational land-based qualifications and leading volunteers while also working freelance as an arborist. He then spent a few years as a Sustainability Office in a local authority, running a renewable energy grant scheme for small businesses and promoting the low-carbon agenda. 

For the last 16 years Steve has worked for the Forestry Commission, bringing together stakeholders to develop the forestry skills agenda, including overseeing the introduction of the highly sought-after Professional Forester degree apprenticeship.

Prof. Ross Cameron

Professor of Environmental Horticulture, University of Sheffield

Ross Cameron is Professor of Environmental Horticulture at the University of Sheffield. His research covers climate adaptation in landscape plants, and the societal benefits provided by urban green spaces. Ross has a BSc and PhD in Horticulture and employment experience at Renfrewshire Parks Dept, HRI East Malling and the University of Reading. He has advisory roles with the RHS, and has worked closely with a number of Horticultural Trade and Research organisations. His book - Environmental Horticulture (CABI, 2026) summarises the latest research findings within landscape horticulture.

Rosemary Collier

Professor, University of Warwick

Rosemary is based at Warwick Crop Centre, which is part of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Warwick.  She is interested in food production and the natural environment and much of her research is focused on the management of pest insects in horticultural crops using approaches that minimise the impact on other species. This may be through biological or physical approaches, or through host plant resistance, an area where she collaborates with colleagues at Warwick within the Vegetable Genetic Improvement Network project (VeGIN).  Rosemary currently leads a Masters course on Food Security at the University of Warwick.

Rosemary is also interested in the wider use of information by farmers, growers and gardeners, including novel technologies for monitoring and managing pests, and the use of information collected by citizen scientists.  She runs a Pest Bulletin for UK Vegetable and Salad growers and is a member of the RHS Science and Collections Group.

Ben Preston

Nursery Owner, Cliff Bank Nursery

Ben is a passionate gardener and nurseryman with a keen eye for unusual plants. He owns Cliff Bank Nursery in Huby, near Harrogate, where he specialises in unusual woodland plants, herbaceous perennials and ornamental grasses.

Before establishing Cliff Bank Nursery, Ben spent five years as Head Gardener at York Gate, where he oversaw the development and expansion of its gardens. During his formative training years, he gained a first-class BSc in Horticulture and Plant Science and worked in several notable gardens, including Audley End in Essex, where he undertook a placement through the Historic and Botanic Garden Training Programme (HBGTP). This is where his horticultural journey began.

Steve Porter

Head of Gardens & Landscape, Chatsworth House Trust

As head of Gardens & Landscape at Chatsworth, Steve leads a large team that maintains and enhances over 100 acres (45 hectares) of formal and productive garden and over 1800 acres (750 hectares) of park and woodland. The implementation of the garden development project has seen the largest and most diverse expansion of the horticultural collection at Chatsworth since the 1840s. Steve has been at Chatsworth for 19 years, and previously held roles in the National Trust at Ickworth in Suffolk and Glendurgan in Cornwall, including operational responsibility for visitor services, retail and catering.

Megan-Rose Beard

Technical Agronomist, G's Fresh

Megan Beard is a Technical Agronomist specialising in field vegetable production, with expertise in conventional and organic production, integrated pest management and regenerative agriculture.

Megan was awarded an LSA Fellowship, providing the opportunity to undertake international study tours and explore innovative approaches to sustainable vegetable production across countries including New Zealand, Australia, Germany and Denmark. Through the Fellowship, she has investigated areas including integrated pest management, genetics, soil health, automation, biodiversity and regenerative production, bringing new ideas and technologies back to UK horticulture. 

David Denny

Director of Research and Knowledge Transfer, HTA

Dave leads the HTA's research, horticulture, and certification and accreditation schemes for growers and landscaping businesses. He's led research to assess and quantify employment and skills gaps within the industry, and leads the HTA's horizon scanning work into trends that will affect the long term future of UK horticulture and its workforce.

Henry Welch

Head of Gardens, The Lost Gardens of Heligan

Henry is Head Gardener at The Lost Gardens of Heligan, where he first began his horticultural career as an apprentice after growing up within walking distance of the gardens. He went on to train at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, before returning to Heligan in 2024 to manage the Jungle and then being appointed Head of Gardens in 2026.

"I am Passionate about caring for Heligan's historic plant collections, including our National Collection of Pre-1920 Camellia's and our wonderfully unruly large Rhododendrons. For me, conservation focused collections are essential to the future of historic gardens, protecting plants of cultural and botanical significance while sharing their stories with visitors. The Jungle is a particular important part of the gardens for me. I love immersive, atmospheric planting, where bold contrasting foliage creates spaces people can wander through, discover slowly and feel briefly lost within. I am also deeply interested in productive growing, in our just over one acre kitchen garden, we grow more than 300 varieties of fruit, vegetables and herbs working with polycultures, nature friendly methods and seasonal produce to show how resilient and beautiful food growing can be."

Suzanne Moss

Director of Learning and Public Engagement, Royal Horticultural Society

Suzanne Moss is Director of Learning & Public Engagement at the Royal Horticultural Society, where she leads work to inspire, educate and connect people through gardening. Passionate about developing horticultural talent, Suzanne works across education, training and community engagement, helping create pathways into the profession for learners of all ages and backgrounds. She is a strong advocate for widening participation in horticulture and building the skills needed for a resilient, thriving sector. 

Suzanne enjoys working with partners across the UK and internationally to explore innovative approaches to learning, workforce development and the future of horticultural skills.

Josh Egan-Wyer

Head of Animal, Land and Horticulture, Pershore College (WCG) 

Josh graduated from Pershore College in 2013 with a First class honours degree in horticulture, and has since moved from nursery supervisor, nursery and garden centre manager and now is Head of School for Animal Sciences, Land based studies & Horticulture. He is Chairman of Plant Heritage Worcestershire group, ex Chairman and currently YHoY Regional Organiser for the West Mids S Wales branch of the CIH. Won the RHS Roy Lancaster award in 2024.

Ros Burnley

Director, Adrow Ltd

Ros Burnley is a consultant specializing in skills and workforce capacity, including strengthening skills pathways and developing apprenticeships in areas such as arboriculture, forestry, horticulture, and landscaping. She holds a BA in Biological Sciences from Oxford University and an MSc in Horticulture from the University of Reading, alongside qualifications in arboriculture, teaching, and project management.  Her 30-year career has spanned nursery stock, plant collections, greenspaces, and sector skills development. Her work includes research, skills planning, project management, and teaching; she serves as an assessor for the Royal Horticultural Society’s Master of Horticulture.  She participates in various industry initiatives and is proud to be an Honorary Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Horticulture and the Institute of Chartered Foresters.

Lindsay Haggis

Quality Advisor, LANDEX

Lindsay Haggis is a Quality Advisor at Landex, the membership organisation representing 40 land-based colleges and universities across the UK. She has worked in further education and the land-based sector since 2004 and was previously Campus Director at East Durham College’s Houghall Campus, where she led curriculum development and quality across land-based provision.

At Landex, Lindsay works with colleges and universities to support high-quality education and training that responds to the needs of land-based industries and their future workforce. Her wider work includes Thrive in 35, bringing education, employers and industry bodies together to explore future skills needs. She is particularly interested in translating employer needs into curriculum, strengthening skills pipelines and attracting the next generation into land-based careers.

Daisy Hooper is Director of Policy, Research and External Relations at Lantra, the skills body for the UK's land-based and environmental sectors. She has more than 15 years' experience spanning policy, innovation and public affairs, including senior roles at Homes England and the Chartered Management Institute. Daisy leads Lantra's policy, research and stakeholder engagement work, working closely with employers, government and industry partners to help build a skilled and resilient workforce for the future.