Wayne McMaster was invited to join Grow for Life three years ago as our Projects Manager, this month we say farewell and wish him, and his wife Tamsin, well on their new adventure, as he leaves us for Cornwall to set up an Organic Flower Farm.
What many people don't realise is that Wayne struggled with his own mental health during his early adult life, abruptly leaving his London design career while suffering deep depression, he is as a result, a suicide survivor, and somone who at the time would have really benefitted from a charity like ours back then.
His journey of healing very much took place in the garden, the realm of the garden eventually led him to Christ. A curiosity and love of nature provided a change of direction into Garden Design and later into Permaculture Design. All these skills he readily shared in his time with our charity.
Wayne will be sadly missed, he seemed to wear many hats under his title as Projects Manager, being intimately involved in the charity during its inception, long before his part-time employment, creating our identity. And while with the us managing the website, designing, marketing, speaking, teaching, leading gardening groups and volunteers.
He started with our first external project of tree planting with Bath Council, helped to run the outbound gardening group that is at the heart of what Grow for Life is about—nurturing people so they flourish, giving our gardeners the opportunity to grow in confidence.
Stepping into the shoes of our outgoing course leader, Wayne discovered his love of teaching, helping to deliver the City & Guilds Level 1 Horticulture course for a number of cohorts, before going on to create and run our very own Herbs & Nature course in collaboration with the Parks and its beautiful Victoria Park, enabling him to share his passion for nature with others.
Wayne helped to establish our first partnership garden with St Philips & St James Church in conjunction with St Martin's Primary School.
He was instrumental in listening to our gardeners and designing the Walled Garden that reflects our gardener's journeys at Grow for Life, after we were given the opportunity to turn a disused paddock on the edge of Newton St Loe into our home. The second garden that Wayne designed for us called the Serenity Garden, we now manage in partnerhsip with Haycombe Cemetary, it will offer us the opportunity to collaborate with those suffering with bereavement.
It was while he was managing our instagram channel that we were picked up by the BBC. We had the privilege and exposure of being part of BBC Gardener's World episode 8 2023, when Adam Frost and the film crew turned up to film our team of volunteers and gardeners.
More recently Wayne has helped to establish the opportunity to restore hazel coppice within Newton St Loe and developing our own willow Withy Beds, close to the Walled Garden. He hopes to hear of our future success with woodcrafts and basket-making.
He said he has one more project in him, and its clearly going to be a big adventure, living off-grid, creating Cornwall's first Biodynamic Organic Flower Farm, near Launceston, on the edge of Bodmin Moor, called Trelowen Flowers. For those wishing to keep in touch and follow their journey they can be found at www.trelowenflowers.com and www.instagram.com/trelowenflowers
We'll miss this dear man greatly - but this afternoon was a great send off - Grow for Life family at its best!