About Rhiannon
Since taking on an allotment in July 2019, Rhiannon has developed a love for growing food, flowers and working on the land. As a self-confessed total amateur grower, having never even managed to keep a house plant alive, she began her growing journey after seeing a friend find joy in their own allotment and decided she would give it a go - and there began the learning of how to sow, plant, mulch, compost and everything in between.
Fast forward 7 years and Rhiannon has now developed the skills and knowledge needed to grow her own food, sharing her learning across social media via her Instagram page, speaking at festivals and to community groups across the Southwest of England, as well as writing articles for popular gardening magazines. She also runs educational workshops for children, young people and adults to equip them with the skills and knowledge to learn to grow their own food and become more self-sufficient.
She has recently combined her love of growing and her passion for serving the community to found a community food action project, designing a community garden growing fresh produce to donate to food action initiatives in and around Exeter, Devon. In it’s first year, Devon Dig and Donate CIC, has already over 1000 kilos of fresh, organically grown food to local food banks and community fridges and larders, supporting a range of local community groups.
Growing
Rhiannon works as a Deputy SENDCO in a mainstream secondary school in Devon. Throughout her career as a teacher, Rhiannon has had a passion for supporting pupils with special educational needs and those at risk of exclusion. After training as a primary school teacher, Rhiannon worked for 3 years teaching years 3, 5 and 6 in Torbay, working with vulnerable pupils and families.
She then moved on to work for 9 years in special education, working in a special school for pupils with a range of needs including autism and moderate learning delay, as well as pupils experiencing social, emotional and mental health difficulties. During this, Rhiannon’s role included improving and supporting the health and nutrition of pupils, staff and families. It was the work Rhiannon undertook in this role that sparked the idea for Devon Dig and Donate CIC.
In her current role within Secondary education, Rhiannon has created a life skills curriculum for pupils with additional learning needs to support the development of their independence and understanding of the world around them. As part of this, she has curated a series of studies focused on learning how to create an allotment, growing food organically and sustainably and understanding the food systems of the UK. She now also works at Abbotsfield Home School, delivering gardening and land based learning to young children aged 4 - 7 years.
Rhiannon is also a partner for SoilEd UK, a campaign on a mission to embed food, farming and sustainability into the national curriculum. As part of this vital national work, Rhiannon has contributed to the recently released White Paper - Growing Knowledge, Nourishing Future: A White Paper on Food, Farming and Education.
Education
