Jude Allen - Director and Principal Trainer 

Jude has 15 years experience in environmental and outdoor work and has a wide range of practical skills in conservation, animal husbandry and horticulture as well as creative outdoor crafts. She has undertaken many informal teaching and group leadership engagements and is also a qualified OCN Tutor and Forest Schools Practitioner. 

Jude has taught children, young people and adults from hard to reach groups including excluded teenagers, individuals with mental health issues, offending backgrounds, learning difficulties as well as rough sleepers and those with alcohol or substance dependencies. 

She is passionate about the physical and therapeutic benefits of Care Farming and likewise from contact with nature and the outdoors. In her spare time she can be found willow weaving, creating art projects through nature and occasionally building music studios and classrooms out of Straw Bales.

Robert Barnes - Director and Business Manager

Robert was born and bred in Watford where he lives with his wife and two daughters. He has worked for the last 12 years in various business creation, marketing and management roles within the IT industry. He is now a Vice President within a major software company responsible for a team of product managers.

He strongly believes in social enterprises and the benefits they can bring to a community. However they can often struggle to get access to experienced managerial, marketing and business skills. It was his belief that professional managers can do more to help bring such skills to social enterprises, his desire to help the local community, and commitment to the idea of care farming that brought him to help start Farming For All.

Alastair Smyth - Trainer

Alastair has worked for Farming for All CIC as a volunteer and sessional worker since the first allotment project opened 2 years ago. He now manages and delivers sessions on the Dig Deep allotment project for Ascend in South Oxhey and the new Horticulture For Health, Wheelchair access allotment site in West Watford funded by The Big Lottery Fund.

Alastair has a wide range of experience working with children and hard to reach groups both in horticulture and farming but also in Music and performance.

Since his youth, growing up on a farm Alastair has had a passion for all things outdoors and strongly beliefs in the simple benefits of being outside and enjoying nature.

Pete Belfield - Associate Trainer and Consultant 

Pete has worked in a number of areas within the charitable sector including fundraising. Currently his focus is with a business enterprise scheme that restores self-esteem to homeless or recently resettled people through woodwork and furniture recycling. It provides useful occupation, engenders a work ethic and provides a sense of community to a range of vulnerable people.

Pete also is working with an outreach team providing emergency accommodation and advice for the most vulnerable, specifically those with mental health, drug and alcohol dependency and rough sleepers.

Before his shift into the charitable sector he was general manager of Borders books in Watford and he grew up on a dairy farm in Devon.

Volunteer Team

We have a fantastic dedicated group of regular volunteers, numbering more than 12 now, who support us in multiple ways from help with funding to clearing sites. The team come from many backgrounds but many have years of experience in the care of vulnerable people and outdoor activities.