Kevin Austin

Kevin started farming as a young boy milking dairy cows, which led on to completing an agricultural diploma, to working and managing dairy herds (10 years dairy farming in NZ). Throughout his life having a passion for growing vegetables and being as self sufficient as possible.
On returning to Cornwall Kevin wanted to be part of a change in the way we live on our planet and has worked for the last 12 years at the Eden Project, where he has been an important part of it’s evolution. Kevin gained a Horticultural Diploma and spent 10 years as the Outdoor Crops Supervisor. Kevin’s currently heads Eden’s Estate’s team and is managing the acres of grounds on the pit’s perimeter, including woods and disused farmland.

Kevin is passionate about traditional land management methods and promotes the use of handheld tools where possible. Recently, Kevin has liased with the Heritage Crafts Association and initiated several Traditional Land management workshops, helping revival of the lost crafts where man and nature worked in harmony, without reliance on the oil industry.

“If we are to change the way we live on this planet we must foster a more intimate connection to the land.”

Kevin began the project at Skyegrove with a vision to create a project, where individuals and communities can learn how to be more self-sufficient in producing their own food and manage their land in sympathy with the earths limited resources. The project is continuing to develop and evolve.

Jenny Cleary

Jenny joined Kevin at Skyegrove in spring 2013. Jenny’s love of the outdoors began in childhood, growing up with animals, riding horses and having her own vegetable patch at the age of twelve. Jenny has always had a passion for growing and cooking with wholesome food and initially worked as a cook and managed a wholefoods establishment. She then ran a successful gardening and landscaping business for twenty years, nurturing her strong connection to the land and to nature. She would often reinstate recycled materials such as old cobblestones, bricks and walling stones in her work.  During the last ten years Jenny has been studying and practicing as an artist and writer. Jenny also currently gives a voice to environmental issues on a local monthly radio show.

As well as the Creative side of Skyegrove’s development, Jenny thoroughly enjoys employing her practical skills and is a member of “the guild of cornish hedgelayers”. 

Currently, Jenny is completing her Masters degree in Art and the Environment, with Falmouth University. 

“My overriding concern through my work is to reconnect people to the elemental forces, nature and the earth’s raw materials in order to transform the way they might think about themselves in relation to the Earth.”

Since Spring 2013, Jenny has enthusiastically assisted Kevin at Skyegrove, with all aspects of the growing and harvesting, reinforcing and enhancing her basic knowledge of growing whilst acquiring many new growing skills and techniques.

Together, they have much to offer and plan to host lots more practical creative and educational courses at Skyegrove in the near future.