Growing Futures
In 2023 the Green Space Skills Hub released the Sector Report exploring the perceptions and challenges of the green space sector. Since then we have been connecting with women and under-represented groups and individuals in the sector to spark conversations around the changes and solutions to help us bridge the gap between careers in green space and London’s unemployment.
Into 2025, we aim to inspire and spark conversations and solutions to improve access, representation and diversity in the sector.
We kick off our activity with an exciting panel event!
Growing Futures: Women and Diversity in Horticulture
Join us for an insightful and solutions-focused in-person panel event exploring how we can improve career access, training pathways, and representation for women and diversity in horticulture.
On Tuesday 4th March 2025, in the lead up to International Women’s Day, we will be hosting an inspiring panel with London’s Garden Museum. You will be joining a panel of people from various areas of the horticulture sector who are willing to share their personal journeys, challenges, and successes in the industry.
They will highlight insights into the opportunities, career pathways and access routes into the sector, to inspire and provide a networking opportunity for jobseekers, career changers and those seeking to progress in the sector.
Meet the Panel
Emma McNamara
Mattie O'Callaghan
Nicola Keen
Emma McNamara
She/Her
I have had a varied career. I gained my garden design and horticulture qualifications to degree level at Sparsholt College in Hampshire, and I was also briefly an FE lecturer in garden design there. It was particularly enjoyable, as I had the opportunity to inspire students’ enthusiasm for design in land-based studies. I went on to run a successful design business in Winchester, Hants, specialising in sustainable designs and playground renovations within the city. I aimed to connect children with the natural world around them. I continued my work in France while living there for five years, from 2007 to 2012, advising and delivering projects with chateaux in the regions. I am now a Fellow of the Landscape Institute.
When I returned to the UK in 2012, I started working for the National Trust as a gardens and parks consultant for London, Southeast, and Northern Ireland. In 2014, I earned my MSc from the University of Bath in the Conservation of Heritage Gardens and Cultural Landscapes. I have just completed a PhD in the ‘spatial analysis of visitor access and the tourism impact on conservation management of natural and cultural heritage sites’ at the University of Southampton, alongside my work at the National Trust.
My recent secondment role as a horticulture development specialist was a testament to my commitment to the industry. I worked on all aspects of development for our teams, focusing on mentoring young talent. I have now returned to my consultancy role for gardens and parks in the London and Southeast region of the National Trust. I continue championing our teams and their work, making our Historic gardens beautiful places to enjoy.
As a joint founder and director of Women in Parks, Horticulture, and Landscapes (WPHL), I am deeply committed to diversifying the industry and enhancing opportunities for women and minorities throughout their careers.
Mattie O'Callaghan
They/Them
Mattie is an ecological designer, curator and gardener, currently the Horticultural Trainee at the Garden Museum and working as a freelance landscape architect. Their work (which can be discovered on their website here) centres around bringing together community, arts, and ecology to design meaningful and beautiful public spaces. They began with studying Geography at Cambridge and have a Distinction from the Royal College of Art in MA Curating where they have since curated exhibitions and ran community projects connecting art and ecology, including receiving the Kew Youth Environmental Leader Award.
They have recently received a Distinction in MLA Landscape Architecture from the University of Greenwich and have been writing about how we can queer planting design and practices. Upcoming they have a residency at Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage and were recently named on the Garden’s Illustrated ‘Ones to Watch’ list for 2025.
Nicola Keen
She/Her
My first Saturday job was as a weeder at my local plant nursery when I was 16. I loved it and seriously considered going to Horticultural College when I finished school. In the end I chose to go to University to study Landscape Architecture which combined my interest in plants and wildlife with design. I was lucky enough to be taught by both Nigel Dunnett and James Hitchmough while they were developing what was to become the prairie planting style they are known for.
After graduating I starting working as a Landscape Architect in a private practice. I worked on a wide range of projects including public realm and new commercial and residential developments. During this time I usually worked as part of multi-disciplinary design team, alongside (mainly male) project managers, architects and engineers. I would also regularly carrying out site inspections to ensure my designs were being implemented as planned.
I joined Groundwork as an Associate Landscape Architect in June 2024 and have been working on a lot of different projects, including refurbishing existing housing estates, a library garden and a sports and recreation ground. Whilst at Groundwork I have also delivered some training on SuDS (Sustainable urban Drainage Systems) at Capel Manor College.
Event Details
This event will take place in-person to better connect women and under-represented individuals to others in the sector, and to encourage even more opportunities for conversation, collaboration and career opportunity.
- When: 7pm – 8pm Tuesday 4th March 2025
- Where: In-person @ The Garden Museum
Join us for (what we hope will be the first of many) an inspiring evening and confirm your place below.
If you’re unable to attend or missed this one, please register for our events using the form below – we hope we can bring more events like this to you in the future!