Grow Leader Course

Community 

Build meaningful relationships and networks with like-minded individuals

Evaluate and challenge information critically, especially when related to environmental and horticultural practice

Personal growth and leadership

Build confidence and courage to step into leadership roles within your local communities.

Cultivate critical thinking and self-awareness to make informed, ethical decisions.

Ecological and horticultural skills

Develop foundational horticultural knowledge, including growing, soil health, seed saving and composting, 

Apply ecological observation and monitoring skills to assess land health and inform practical decisions.

Action and application

Plan & present a small scale community project idea that reflects your course learning & future goals 

Reflect on learning and transformation over the course through written, verbal or creative expression

IMPORTANT NOTE: 
The Grow Leader course provides an opportunity to introduce students to some basic ecology principles and horticultural skills. It is not a technically comprehensive horticultural/ecology course but intends to offer a holistic approach to these topics igniting a love of learning and critical thinking in attendees so they can pursue areas of interest in the future. 

Rhea Warner is a creative community organiser with an interdisciplinary background encompassing conservation, socially engaged art, philosophy, and queer ecology. With a decade’ experience working in ecological and community projects in Sweden, Brazil, the UK and Spain, Rhea offers support to individuals and organisations seeking to deepen their Work’ purpose and expand the social and environmental impact of projects. She thrives in spaces where collaboration, storytelling and shared purpose spark community led change that does good for people and planet.
Her session focusses on the roots of community organising in relation to the intersections of, and necessity for, collective social and environmental justice work. The day will bring understanding of the deeper power & potential purpose of land-based work, to hopefully inspire participants to approach their own projects with greater courage and boldness. Drawing on tools from initiatives such as Art of Hosting and the Community Organisers, participants will leave with resources for project planning & practical skills for engagement in their communities.

Amie Cook is an experienced ecologist and biodiversity officer working in the west of england. She has a wealth of experience in protected species monitoring, landscape management and community engagement for nature. All of Amies' roles revolve around improving the connectivity and quality of nature in urban and rural settings and helping people understand & connect with the natural world around them. Working previously for the Avon Wildlife Trust in 2024, Amie delivered a free ecological advisory service, but has worked in private consultancy and now for the Local Government authority in South Gloucestershire. Amie's special areas of interest are habitat restoration, the freshwater network and ponds. You won't stop her talking about access to nature, connectivity, community action and systemic change for wildlife and people.

Angus Lam is a community facilitator and food sovereignty researcher. He began his career working on various community-supported agriculture (CSA) farms. After several years as an anti-GM campaigner, he shifted his focus to working with indigenous communities in Asia, safeguarding farmers’ seeds and facilitating farmer-to-farmer agroecological learning for over two decades. He is currently a programme staff member at GRAIN, a small international organisation that supports small farmers and social movements in their struggles for community-controlled, biodiversity-based food systems.
More recently, Angus joined Sims Hill Shared Harvest and Hazelnut Community Farm in Bristol, where he promotes inclusive CSA, culturally appropriate foods, and urban food growing. He is also an active member of Bristol Seed Swap, supporting the conservation of heritage seeds. Through his career, Angus has come to understand the deep connections between seed sovereignty, climate change, and community culture by learning from farmers’ wisdom. He believes it is far from too late to take collective action to address the current polycrisis.

 

The Grow Leader is part of a rich landscape of training offerings in Bristol, the Grow Leader will expose you to wildlife gardening, ecology, horticultural and food growing skills, urban conservation and community organising woven into a personal and leadership development journey. 
There are many other complimentary courses in Bristol and beyond that will then allow you to deep dive into a topic that has sparked your interest, such as;

• Shift Bristol year long Practical Sustainability Course
• St Werburghs City Farm Organic Gardening course with Tim Foster
• Apricot Centre
• Black Mountains college 

Our pricing structure:

Accessibility and inclusion are core values of this programme. Our pricing structure includes Solidarity, Standard, and Bursary rates. Those who choose the Solidarity rate help subsidise bursary places, enabling a wider range of people to participate. We invite you to select the rate that best reflects your circumstances.

Our pricing reflects the depth, duration and range of learning opportunities included in this flagship programme.

• The programme is designed to provide ample time to build meaningful relationships, strengthen networks, and integrate learning through reflection and practice.
• The course includes dedicated sessions on leadership and community organising, supporting participants to build confidence and skills to create positive change in their communities and organisations.
• Practical land management sessions at Grow Wilder provide experience in conservation and horticulture skills.
• Learning from 8 different tutors, with the potential to have additional 1-2-1 coaching sessions during or after the course (not included in course fees).

Two discounted spaces (-25%) per course for participants who can demonstrate that they are living on a low income (under £15,000 pa) payslip, student loan statement or proof of receiving benefits can be used as verification. 

There is a pay by instalments option- direct debit 

There will be a maximum of 15 attendees. 

A non-refundable 25% deposit will be required to reserve your place on the course.

The deposit is 25% of the course fee and is strictly non-refundable

There is one opportunity to transfer to another course once a deposit has been paid, this is organised on a case by case basis. Although, we cannot accommodate attending one off sessions that have been missed on a previous course.

Low income tickets; we will require proof of your low income status just before starting the course. If your circumstances have changed in the time between booking on and starting the course you will be asked to pay the full price ticket. The low income tickets are in high demand and are there to enable people to attend who otherwise could not. 

The balance is due before the course begins

Please contact growwilder@avonwildlifetrust.org.uk if you have an issue.

Based at Grow Wilder, you’ll learn in a thriving urban nature reserve - a space where community, food growing and nature recovery come together.

A mixture of classroom theory and practical land-based learning. 

You're welcome to visit the site! Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and Saturdays, 10am to 4pm.

Address: 181 Frenchay Park Road Bristol BS16 1EL
Grow Wilder is well connected to walking, cycling and bus routes (12 minutes from Bristol city centre). If travelling by car, please park on Begbrook Social Club located over the road.