Tipi Talks 2026

This year’s Tipi Talks programme has been complied by the Eden Project and brings together horticulturists, educators and community growers to explore gardening, wellbeing and the future of horticulture. Headline speakers include Tayshan Hayden-Smith, a community leader and environmental activist from North Kensington. After the Grenfell Tower tragedy, he founded Grow to Know, using gardening as a tool for collective healing and campaigning for equitable access to green space through the Closing the Green Gap initiative. Now a leading voice on socio-environmental justice, he collaborates with global brands, appears regularly across national media, and advises on sustainability as a Commissioner on the London Climate and Sustainability Commission.

Tayshan Hayden-Smith will open the Tipi Talks on Saturday in a discussion around Wellbeing and Plants, hosted by Phil Young of the Eden Project, alongside speakers including James Clark (Eden Project), Rich Hardy (CHAOS Group), and Gemma Haigh (Plant Parlour).
The afternoon fireside chat, Future Horticulture, brings together Peter Jones, Director of Horticulture at Eden, Matthew Pottage of The Royal Parks and BBC Gardeners’ Question Time, Emma Gunn of Never Mind the Burdocks and horticulturist Duana Pearson.
On Sunday, hosted by Alasdair Moore of Tresco Abbey Gardens, talks begin with Learning from Nature, featuring Eden horticulturists Katie McBride and Sam Kendall alongside Jacob Willbourne of the CHAOS Group and Chris Bisson of Cornwall College.
The programme concludes with Nature-Kind Gardening, with speakers including Phillip Young of the Eden Project, Juliet Rose of Nature Connections, Sarah Woollett from Eden’s garden team and Sam Finch of Alit-y-Bela.

Saturday 28th March

Wellbeing & Plants – 11-12.30pm

One of the key benefits of horticulture is its amazing ability to make us feel better. Whether this is due to the interaction with nature in its broadest sense or simply getting extra vitamin D, getting soil under your nails and smelling the roses, the connection to nature undeniably positively affects mental and physical well-being. With the hope of a happier and healthier, more engaged society, the hope is that we will have more capacity to make the right choices for our environment. This amazing collection of passionate plant people who want to bring us closer to nature discuss how we can do this in real terms.

Future Horticulture – 1.30pm-3pm

We are undeniably in a period where things are moving fast, the future that we are heading toward is in many ways unknown, and this may seem a bit overwhelming. With a connection to nature and an understanding of what has gone before, we can learn a lot about what the future may hold. Nature has been a constant through different fashions, styles and even socio-political challenges, so what exactly can we learn from plants that may inform what the future may hold? What can we do to support the environment with the decisions we make in our own part of society, and what is the value of horticulture in the health of the planet? These are some of the questions our expert panel aim to discuss.

Sunday 29th March

Learning from Nature –10.30am – 12 pm
We live within an ever-changing environment and we can learn from our surroundings about how best to deal with the future. The way we learn from nature is key. It affects our wellbeing, it is formative and creates future possibilities, it can provide us with tools to help create a more positive future, but how can we best learn from nature to move forward? Our experts in horticulture have decades of experience in how to share this knowledge and passion, and they’re keen to talk this through with you all!

Nature-Kind Gardening – 12.30pm – 2pm
We understand that we are individually a small part of the ecosystems that surround us. But collectively, we play a large part in how we affect those surroundings. Our action or inaction can make a big difference to other living elements on the planet; perhaps inactivity is due to difficulty knowing where to start. We hope to address how we are connected to nature and both the benefits and things we can improve upon to help every part of getting nature into your backyard, in an easy and accessible way.

Tipi Talks: A little bit about our Speakers

Rich Hardy

Rich is Horticultural Lead for the CHAOS Group. He heads up the growing team and supports their horticulturalists in growing healthy, nutritious vegetables for local communities suffering from food poverty.

He also orchestrates weekly horticultural therapy focused volunteer sessions for individuals prescribed gardening as a way to help them recover from poor mental and/or physical health. A former undercover investigative journalist he came to gardening as a remedy to suffering from PTSD.

Katie McBride

Katie McBride has been working in horticulture for 14 years, with experience across different horticultural sectors, including floristry, education, displays, tropical and temperate.

She started her career at Eden, joining their horticultural apprenticeship programme. After which she continued her studies, completing a FdSc in Horticulture at Duchy College.

Upon completion of her degree, Katie returned to Eden to be part of the outdoor garden team, where she looked after the pollination exhibit for 6 years.

For the last 5 years, Katie has been running the RHS level 2 principles of plant growth and development at Eden, teaching the next generation of horticulturists.

She is passionate about sustainable gardening practices, combating climate change, supporting biodiversity, protecting and creating valuable habitats.

Jacob Willbourne

Jacob is a gardener specialising in therapeutic horticulture and community growing.His work explores the relationship between wellbeing, nature connection, and food sovereignty, using gardening as a way to build resilience, belonging, and practical life skills. Through mindfulness practice, men’s groups, and outdoor learning, he supports people to reconnect with themselves, their communities, and the living world.Jacob currently works with the CHAOS Group delivering horticultural wellbeing programmes, and also volunteers with the charity A Band of Brothers, where he supports initiatives focused on mentoring and personal development.

James Clark

James is the Horticultural Therapy Team Lead at the Vounder Social and Therapeutic Horticulture Garden at the Eden Project, where they use horticulture to support participants who are experiencing mental ill-health and other life limiting challenges.

James has over 25 years horticultural experience working for the National Trust, private gardens and as a horticulturalist at the Eden Project.

In 2021 James moved from his role in the gardens at Eden to work alongside the horticultural therapist in the therapy garden and had since gained a diploma in social and therapeutic horticulture from Thrive and now leads the small dedicated team of horticultural therapy practitioners at Eden.

Emma Gunn

Emma Gunn is a garden designer and expert forager with a lifelong passion for plants and their many uses.

She spent 22 years at the Eden Project in Cornwall, beginning as a draughtsperson and developing extensive practical expertise in planting, landscape design, floristry, show garden design, and set dressing. Alongside her design work, Emma has built a strong reputation as a knowledgeable and engaging forager.

She has worked with River Cottage and leads walks and workshops that help people reconnect with wild food and the natural world.Emma is the author of the Never Mind the Burdocks foraging books, which celebrate the flavours, folklore, and everyday usefulness of plants.She now combines garden design, teaching, and foraging to inspire others to grow, gather, and enjoy plants in new ways.

Juliet Rose

Dr Juliet Rose is Head of Development (Nature and People) at the Eden Project.

Juliet manages Eden Project National Wildflower Centre and Eden Project Outreach programmes, developing and delivering activities that support both nature recovery and social recovery.

Philip Young

Phillip Young is a Horticultural Manager at the Eden Project, where he stewards 200 acres of diverse habitats across the estate.

His work balances ornamental horticulture with a sensitive, ecological approach that responds thoughtfully to place.

With over two decades of experience—much of it spent in botanic gardens and arboreta—Phillip brings both deep professional expertise and a lifelong passion for the natural world. His work reflects a nuanced understanding of habitats and ecological systems, underpinned by a particular interest in arboriculture.

Duana Pearson

Duana is a professional horticulturist with over 15 years of experience.

Duana has worked in of Cornwall’s most popular gardens.

She has specialised in productive gardening, and is passionate about sharing her knowledge of fruit and vegetable growing.

Gemma Haigh

Gemma is an award-winning RHS Chelsea Flower Show Designer, Gemma Haigh, is the founder of The Plant Parlour.

As a Surrey-based content creator and consultant, she offers tips to help your houseplants live happily ever after!

Tom Hoblyn

Tom is a British landscape designer, horticulturist and gardener who set up his garden design practice shortly after graduating from The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. His work is underpinned by his innate understanding and knowledge as a plantsman and horticultural master. He has an inherent discernment for the intangible ‘spirit of place’ that characterises a landscape. An established figure at RHS Chelsea and RHS Hampton Court, he has received three gold, four silver gilt and two silver medals. In addition, he won the coveted People’s Choice Award for his Arthritis UK-sponsored garden. He received a nomination for the People’s Choice of the Decade Award in 2020. In May 2022, he was awarded a further gold medal for his garden, The Boodles Travel Garden at RHS Chelsea. He is a Fellow of the Society of Garden Designers (FSGLD). Tom places great importance on working with and supporting his local community. He regularly engages in local planting initiatives, acts as a judge for East Anglia in Bloom events, and proactively supports horticultural education for the young. Keen to encourage and develop the healing and well-being qualities associated with landscape, Tom has designed a therapeutic garden for a Children’s Hospice at Haven House, in collaboration with the Green fingers Charity. He has a regular presence in the press and receives frequent invitations to speak publicly to share his knowledge for Garden MasterClass and many other organisations.

Sam Kendall

Sam is the Head of Education at the Eden Project. Sam leads all of the charity work of the Eden Project with schools, colleges and universities.

She’s been a member of Eden’s Education Team since the project opened in 2001, championing nature- connected, sustainability-focused learning for all and establishing Eden as a must-visit school destination for schools across the UK and beyond.

Following a first degree in Natural Science at Jesus College, Cambridge, she qualified as a primary school teacher, with a science specialism, and worked in schools in Bristol, Cornwall, Karachi and South Africa prior to joining Eden.

Sam Finch

Sam is a passionate horticulturist with over a decade of experience in the industry. He began his career as a jobbing gardener, working alongside a wide range of horticulturalists and developing a strong practical foundation.

Sam went on to become the youngest Head Gardener at the National Trust, first at Prior Park, before leading the gardens at Lytes Cary Manor and Tintinhull. Throughout his career, he has combined hands-on expertise with a thoughtful, forward-looking approach to garden management.

Having recently taken on the role of Head Gardener at Allt y Bela, Sam is focused on driving the garden forward and developing it as a vibrant hub for horticultural networking, learning, and engagement.

Sarah Woollett

With over five years of experience in Horticulture, Sarah Woollett is keen to re-connect people with plants through her work as Team Leader for the Ornamental Outdoor Gardens at Eden Project.

Sustainable horticulture is crucial to her plant practice and is particularly interested in botany and why plants act the way they do.

Her goal is to contribute to creative horticultural solutions to the warming climate.

Chris Bisson

Chris Bisson is a passionate science educator and communicator striving to find ways to transcend boundaries for societal engagement with plants. Chris has worked on collaborative projects with international botanic gardens, sharing knowledge and ideas for plant conservation. Currently, Chris is a Higher Education Programme Manager, coordinating the Foundation Degree in Horticulture at Eden.