Who are we?

Cultivate is a co-op with 300+ members from in and around Oxford (and a few enthusiastic supporters from further afield!). Members support the runnings of the co-op with their time and financial resources and can get stuck into everything Cultivate does by volunteering, coming along to and organising events.

On a day to day basis Cultivate is run by a team of 5 part-time employees joined as the seasons demand by extra hands in the field or selling produce on the Veg Van or at markets. We also have a bank of regular volunteers, some of whom work with Cultivate weekly or several times a week.

Cultivate's Board of Directors, listed below, oversee the direction and progress of the co-op. All of the directors will stand down at the first Annual General Meeting and may offer themselves for re-election.

Cultivate is supported by a great many people and organisations, some of whom are listed on our Friends page.

poly lunch

Executive Directors

Dan Betterton
Dan keeps a keen eye on Cultivate's finances, with his five years of financial experience working for AXA Insurance standing him in good stead. Dan is on the committee of Low Carbon Oxford North, and moonlights as Low Carbon Hub Sustainable Food Advisor. He also works on the Student Consultancy at Oxford University Careers Service.

Emma Burnett
Emma holds an MSc in Biodiversity and Conservation and as well as overseeing Cultivate's communications, web presence and volunteers, is interested in ways of introducing greater biodiversity to our farming. Previously worked on sustainability with Oxford Hub, contributed to the National Ecosystem Assessment, researched crop diversity in Oxford’s allotments at the OUCE.

Julian Cottee
Julian studied Human Sciences (BA) and Environmental Policy (MSc) at Oxford University, where he got involved in setting up OxGrow edible community garden. He has previously worked at the British Antarctic Survey, collected orchids in Trinidad & Tobago and researched cotton supply chains at the Environmental Justice Foundation.

Joe Hasell
Joe is equally good at creating enormous spreadsheets as he is at growing tomatoes. After getting his degree from in PPE from Worcester College Oxford, he subsequently worked there as a gardener for two years, during which time he set up a college food plot and was co-founder of OxGrow, Oxford's Edible Community Garden.

Doireann Lalor
At the same time as helping to get Cultivate off the ground Doireann was also working as the Sustainability Officer for Oxford Hub and the Turl Street Kitchen, being a trustee of the Oxford Food Bank, running OxGrow and finishing a PhD in Italian Literature! She is particularly interested in the community and educational aspects of Cultivate.

Non-executive directors

Tom Curtis (Chairman of the Board)
Co-Founder and Managing Director of Landshare community interest company, extensive experience in professional land management. Current projects include Foodprinting Oxford, How to Feed a City and Land Partnerships.

Sarah Flood (Secretary)
Fifteen years experience in the social economy including NCVO, Plunkett Foundation, New Philanthropy Capital, Green Alliance and The Social Investment Business. Now at Ethex ethical investing.

 

Non-directors and advisory positions

We get occasional assistance from people who really know their stuff. This has included Tom Ingall from Canalside Community Food; Iain Tolhurst from Tolhurst Organic; Jim Brown from Baker Brown Associates; Richard Snow from The Plunkett Foundation; and lots of others.

If you have a skill or specialty which you think you would help Cultivate, please let us know!