Alan Bell

Alan has been involved with Trellis since 2002. He has worked at the National Trust for Scotland’s Culzean Castle and in the gardens at Holyrood Palace. In the late 80’s he worked as an advisor for the Society for Horticultural Therapy, based in Somerset but assisting projects across the UK. He went on to set up the organisation’s Scottish office, which later became Community Gardening Projects Scotland. After a period teaching abroad, Alan worked in community regeneration, specifically on environmental projects. He is currently Parks & Gardens Manager for City of Edinburgh Council.

Calum Buchanan

Currently a mature student at the Scottish Agricultural College, Edinburgh studying Garden Design. Before embarking on this course, Calum, for many years, ran a gallery showing contemporary art.

Gordon Croll

Gordon has studied horticulture at Elmwood and Dundee Colleges, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and is currently Curriculum Manager for horticulture at Dundee College, where he has taught for over 23 years. The college provides instruction in horticulture therapy. Gordon has been linked with Trellis and its predecessor for over ten years.

John Duncan

After almost 30 years in the health service, John took a change of direction to work with adults with learning disabilities. John has a farming background having worked on the family farm, part time, for many years. He also has experience of working with special needs in various settings, including summer camps and weekend retreats. He is now combining these skills in managing VSA Easter Anguston Farm in Peterculter, Aberdeen where they provide training and therapeutic employment opportunities for adults with learning disabilities in Agriculture, Horticulture, Rural Skills and Conservation.

Susan Grant BA, MSc in Human Resources

Working in Human Resources for over 28 years, Susan has provided HR consultancy support to a wide range of organisations.

Antonia Ineson, MPhil History & Social Studies of Science, BSc Biology, Dip Health Education, Dip Organic & Biodynamic Agriculture & Horticulture

Antonia works as a policy officer in Public Health for NHS Lothian, on health improvement. Her current area of work is food policy and healthy weight, including local food systems. She has been involved in supporting the development of community and therapeutic gardening in Lothian. She has worked for short periods on a variety of farms and gardens in Scotland and New Zealand, including a Camphill community, and now runs an organic market garden in Perthshire in the summer months.

Iain Mackintosh, MA, BSc, FCMI, FIBC, MBCS

Based in Perth, Iain runs his own business providing line and project management services to corporate clients, plus business administration and website development services to smaller organisations.

Fiona McKinnon HND (Hort), DMS

Fiona studied horticulture at Auchincruive, and has worked in parks for various Scottish local authorities and as Business Development Manager for a commercial grounds maintenance company. She works as Business Development Manager for Glasgow City Council’s Land and Environmental Services, dealing with the strategic development of Glasgow’s public parks and open spaces, and is currently working on the production of the Council’s Allotment Strategy.

Colin Stirling, FIHort, NDH (Hons), MBPR (Hort)

Colin is a director of HortiCS, a horticultural advisory business, He was employed by SAC as the Senior Horticultural Advisor from 1988–2002 providing an advisory service to the north and east of Scotland. He is a director of Trellis and Chairman of Pitcaple Environment Project Ltd. The latter is a registered charity providing horticultural training facilities for special needs and disabled adults in the Inverurie area. He is a regular broadcaster on the BBC Potting Shed programme.