A number of dedicated lovers of growing, gardening and supporting the community in a range of ways are volunteering their time, expertise and enthusiasm to building a market garden that will provide fresh, good food to our community.
Here are some of the Team:
Roy Plenderleith
Trustee
Now retired after working in the construction industry, and for the last 20 years in a housing charity. Roy has always had an interest in nature and the environment. When John Riley spoke to Roy about a potential organic food growing project he was trying to set up in Biggar, he was keen to be involved. With an increasing understanding of the link between nature, the environment, and our own wellbeing, it is important that we all play a part in protecting the planet and thus, future generations. Roy hopes by contributing to this community project he can make a difference, even in a small way. Roy’s other interests include mountaineering, photography and wood crafts.
John Currie
Treasurer
John, 64, moved to Biggar in 2000 with his wife, son and daughter. Recently retired from a forty year career in community pharmacy, twenty of of these as an owner of a small chain of pharmacies, John served on various national professional and negotiating bodies. He has loved every second of his time in Biggar and serves on the board of the Biggar Youth Project, and this and the BCMG initiative, sees and ideal opportunity to give back something to his cherished town; He looks forward to the project flourishing and lasting way beyond the current participants’ futures.
John Riley
Chairman
John, now aged 67, married to Elaine with two sons who both went to school in Biggar, has lived and worked in the town since 1995. His early days of environmental activism started when he set up a tree planting carbon off-set scheme for Re/max estate agency and became passionate about promoting the worldwide carbon rationing principle known as ‘Contraction & Convergence’. But now recognising that serious climate change is locked into the system no matter what we do, he felt his best approach would be to learn about psychotherapy to help himself and other people cope with this reality, and also to set up a local food growing project, to insulate our community in a small way from the pending threat of reducing supplies of health organic food. Hence: ‘Biggar Community Market Garden’ is underway.
Simon Pilpel
Volunteer
Simon started his career as a professional gardener and tree surgeon in London and Oxford, and after periods abroad and in various parts of the UK, settled in Biggar in the 1990’s. He has always worked in the areas of environmental land management/conservation and community development, and since retiring in 2022 has been involved in a number of local community environmental projects. He sees the BCMG initiative as a great way of teaching people about the benefits of local food growing and how we can all help make a meaningful contribution to make Biggar an even more sustainable community.
Julie Nelson
Volunteer
Julie has a background in Education, Psychology and Art & Design. She is the main link with schools and nurseries in the area, and is responsible for the development of learning programmes for volunteers, schools and the community, as well as content development for the website. She is passionate about the positive impact that the growing and eating of real food can have on physical and mental health as well as the planet.