Meet the Fellows

Aleana Cairns

Horticulture Advisor, CAFRE

Aleana has been in her current role since August 2025 where she provides technical support and advice to growers and industry professionals across all horticulture sectors in Northern Ireland. As well as answer technical queries, her role also sees her delivering training, hosting event days and workshops and running demonstration projects.

Prior to joining CAFRE, Aleana worked in scientific research, specialising in mushroom production at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI). After studying Plant Science at the University of Manchester, she gained experience in England managing commercial crop efficacy trials with Eurofins Agroscience Services across cereal, vegetable and potato crops, before moving to the Stockbridge Technology Centre to work within the plant clinic diagnostic team and deliver research trials in horticultural crops.

“From the fellowship I hope to meet with fellow horticulturalists and build a network across the industry to learn from and collaborate on future projects. I also hope to travel to see cultivation techniques and practices in other areas of the world to learn how these could be implemented in Northern Ireland. I hope to make the most of the fellowship and develop my understanding across a range of sectors to better support and pass on the knowledge to the growers I support. I am excited to come on board the fellowship scheme and believe it will open up new opportunities, connections and develop my career in the horticultural industry.”

Christopher Edwards

Trials Manager, VCS (UK) Ltd

Chris joined VCS in March 2022, bringing with him extensive knowledge of field trials in both practical and applied settings.

Chris serves as VCS’ Trials Manager and is the leader of the ORETO certified trials team. He possesses considerable experience in managing field trials to a Good Experimental Practice (GEP) standard. In this key role, Chris collaborates closely with agrochemical companies, plant breeders, and start-ups to plan and execute field trials, ensuring adherence to the highest industry standards. He is well versed across all critical aspects of field trials.

In addition to his trials responsibilities, Chris oversees VCS’s Farm Support Services department. This includes; quality control, harvest forecasting and planning, maximizing overall crop efficiency and commercial onion storage.

“I hope to further build my network within the industry and reach out to areas of agriculture that are not part of my current sector and gain valuable insight into wider areas of the industry.”

Laura Davey

Technical Specialist, Fargro Ltd

Laura joined Fargro as a Digital Agronomist before progressing to her current role. She supports customers across the South East, working primarily with ornamental nurseries alongside protected salads, soft fruit and amenity landscapes. Her role focuses on advising growers on integrated pest management, including biological controls and biopesticides, using a holistic, preventative approach that considers crop protection, nutrition and environmental conditions to maximise plant resilience. She is also closely involved in environmental sensor development and Innovate UK projects, helping integrate new technologies into commercial growing systems.

Prior to this, Laura gained a Master’s degree in Sustainable Crop Production and Agronomy at Warwick University, sponsored by the Clyde Higgs Scholarship.

“I am really excited to be an LSA Fellow. I hope to broaden my understanding of the horticultural sector and the wider challenges facing the industry involving trade and policy. I want to better understand the pressures growers face, and I am particularly interested in how new technologies may offer solutions. I look forward to connecting with people across the industry and being part of a community which drives horticulture forward.”

Matt Lindsay

Director, Growing Revolution Ltd

Matt has been a key member of the Growing Revolution team since October 2019. In his role, Matt works across the full breadth of the business, spanning Sales and Marketing, Operations and Logistics, Project Management, and Product Development. This broad remit reflects both the fast-paced nature of the company and Matt’s passion for driving forward high-quality green infrastructure solutions.

Before joining Growing Revolution, Matt built his career at Biotecture, one of the UK’s leading living wall providers. There, he gained extensive experience across Operations, Project Management and Product Management, developing a deep understanding of how nature-based systems can be successfully integrated into the built environment. This background sparked his commitment to environmental improvement through innovative horticultural design.

By joining the LSA Charitable Trust Fellowship Scheme, Matt hopes to broaden his connection to the wider commercial horticulture sector. He is excited to join a cohort of like-minded professionals who share a passion for positive change and who are collectively working to strengthen the future of UK horticulture. Matt sees the Fellowship as an opportunity to gain deeper industry insight, build meaningful networks, and engage with experts whose perspectives will complement and challenge his own.

Matt sees the Fellowship as an important step in his career: an opportunity to grow, contribute, and help drive forward a more sustainable approach to how we design and build our future spaces.

Edgars Kneksis

Horticultural Technical Sales Specialist, HL Hutchinson Ltd

Since May 2023 Edgar’s role has been a Horticulture Technical Sales Specialist at HL Hutchinson Ltd, a leading provider of horticulture products and technical services. His day-to-day tasks include visiting growers with crops as varied as ornamentals, cut flowers, protected vegetables, soft fruit and top fruit providing technical advice across all areas of crop production. He helps to plan and implement Integrated Crop Management strategies for growers, focusing on inclusion of biological controls. He also provides guidance on growing media, nutrition, plant material input and crop protection programs and delivers technical updates to the production teams to keep them up to date on industry innovations.

Before joining Hutchinsons, Edgars worked at an ornamental plant nursery as Nursery Manager where he oversaw all aspects of production and day-to-day tasks, ensuring timely and cost-effective delivery of high-quality products.

With over 18 years of experience in the industry, he has gained a deep understanding of horticulture and a passion for helping growers succeed.

“I hope that the LSA Fellowship Scheme will help to continue to expand my technical knowledge and understanding of the horticultural industry. It is important than I can deliver the best technical advice based on the latest innovations and a wide knowledge base. I also want to develop my professional skills to enhance my credibility in the industry. Through this, I want to strengthen my leadership skills facilitating the drive to inspire people to engage with horticulture and wider issues surrounding it.

Meeting with horticultural experts from different sectors through the LSA Fellowship Scheme and gaining insight into trade body operations will help me to achieve these aims.  I also hope that the networking opportunities from involvement in the scheme will help to expand my connections within the industry.”

Henil Vashi

Horticultural Advisor, Robin Tacchi Plants

Henil started his role as a Horticultural Advisor at Robin Tacchi Plants in 2022 after graduating with a M.Sc. degree in Plant Genetics and Crop Improvement from the University of East Anglia/John Innes Centre. He also holds a B.Sc. (Hons.) degree in Horticulture from Navsari Agricultural University, India.

Henil, in his role as a Horticultural Advisor, focuses on all the aspects of ornamental pot plant production to produce top-quality plants for the UK landscape and amenity sector. In his day-to-day job, he is actively involved in crop husbandry, plant nutrition regimes, potting scheduling, plant propagation, developing compost recipes and integrated pest management. Henil manages all the horticultural trials on the nursery and is currently working on the company’s smooth transition to peat-free plant production. Henil is also responsible for actively maintaining the Plant Healthy status of the company.

His previous industry work experience consists of time spent at his ornamental plant nursery family business in Gujarat, India. Henil was also recently awarded a 2024 HTA Young Grower under 35 award. I am delighted to join the fellowship and look forward to gaining more knowledge of the UK horticultural industry. I am excited to meet like-minded peers on the fellowship and for the opportunity to network with people from various sectors of the industry. I am keen to advance my understanding of the work done by trade bodies in the industry. I hope that the knowledge and skills I acquire through this program will contribute to the growth and development of Robin Tacchi Plants and the broader ornamental horticulture industry.

Rebecca Hoyle

Horticultural Knowledge and Innovation Executive, David Austin Roses

In 2016, at the age of 31, Rebecca changed careers from Law and Real Estate to Horticulture. She started by volunteering part-time with Small Woods and the National Trust to build experience before gaining full-time employment as a Gardener at Country Garden Roses, a small family-run nursery and tearoom, set in landscaped grounds selling roses and herbaceous perennials. Over time, she progressed to become Head Gardener.

Rebecca began with David Austin Roses in 2019. Her current position is Horticultural Knowledge and Innovation Executive where she looks to improve and innovate their production practices in alignment with their ESG strategy BLOOM, through theoretical and practical research and development. This includes sharing knowledge and providing training to staff, which is very important to her and one of her favourite parts of the job.

Their business, while a monoculture, covers a broad cross-section of horticulture including breeding, glasshouse, field and container growing, an international partner network, marketing, retail and wholesale sales and dispatch, plant centre and gardens to name a few.

“Through participation in the LSA Fellowship Scheme, I hope to build long-term relationships with other growers across the industry and investigate the potential for collaboration in knowledge transfer partnerships with universities. My areas of interest include soil health, weeds, digital agronomy and automation/robotics.

I look forward to attending the committee meetings of our trade bodies to see how they are shaping industry strategies and collaborating to ensure the best future for horticulture.”

Edward Murphy

Farm Manager, Herbs Unlimited

Edward’s role as Farm Manager at Herbs Unlimited sees him managing the outside endeavours of the farm, ensuring the day to day outdoor operations run smoothly. Herbs Unlimited grow seasonal fresh herbs and speciality products in polytunnels and in the fields, directed to the wholesale and processing market.

Edward’s previous experience is fairly varied in the sense that it has not always been focused on horticulture. He has had the opportunity to experience different roles and sectors. His previous employment was as the Assistant Farm Manager on a sweetcorn, pumpkin and squash farm in Essex.

“I hope to learn and explore the diversities of the horticultural sector with like minded people.”