Our Ambassadors

Navaratnam Partheeban OBE - Farm Vet

Partheeban is a farm vet with roles which have included clinical practice, higher education, the pharmaceutical and the global animal health industry.

Partheeban is co-founder of the British Veterinary Ethnicity and Diversity Society (BVEDS).  He was a principal investigator researching 'The experiences of racism and the impact on the mental wellbeing of BAME people working or studying in the UK veterinary sector' and his Nuffield Farming study explored 'Encouraging and Supporting Black and People of Colour in Agriculture'.

As a current Director of the Oxford Farming Conference, he is leading the OFC Scholars Programme and Breaking Barriers Scholarship. He is previously a trustee of St Werburghs City Farm and The Country Trust.

John Pawsey - Farmer

John Pawsey is a fourth-generation farmer from Suffolk and is a Director of Shimpling Park Farms Limited. The farm is mixed with 650 hectares of arable land and 1,000 New Zealand Romney breeding ewes on Hanslope series chalky boulder clay.

John also farms an additional 980 hectares for neighbouring farmers under farm management contracts. All the farms are managed organically with the first farm being converted to organic production in 1999.

Crops grown feature an array of legumes and cereals as well as some speciality organic crops, some within an agroforestry system.

Diversifications on the farm include an extensive environmental scheme, commercial and domestic rentals and various renewable energy projects. 

Alice Pawsey - Farmer

Farms with husband John.  With a background away from the farm Alice married into it and now does a mix-up of jobs that don’t really fit anyone else: farm education, property management, recording, events, hire and sheep sales.

Alice feels strongly about responsible food production, and about the underexploited opportunity to educate through the farming environment. Alice runs the farm visits at Shimpling Park Farm across all age ranges and is working to keep these as real, relevant and engaging as possible.  

Both Alice and John enjoy the engagement and opportunities that social media play in explaining what we do as farmers.  The conversation is invaluable for both sides.  And when people can visit the farm, it's even better.  The excitement of a child (or indeed an adult ) experiencing our fields and woods is visceral. The curiosity displayed and the energetic conversations that follow are really enriching.  Particularly as many of  those visits are linked with the Country Trust.  An organisation whose values we applaud and who facilitates for many an experience that might never have happened. 

Jenny Jefferies - Farmer’s wife, mother, an award winning Cookbook Author, food columnist and producer/presenter
 

Jenny compiled the successful and award-winning book series ‘For The Love Of The Land’, ‘For The Love Of The Sea’ and their sequels. Jenny’s most recent book ‘Islands In A Common Sea: Stories of Farming, Fishing and Food Around The World’ has just been published globally. Jenny is an Ambassador for Love British Food, Eco Ewe and the Farmers Guardian and is a member of The Guild of Food Writers, The British Guild of Agricultural Journalists and writes regular online articles for Country & Town House magazine, a monthly food column for the Cambridge Independent and articles for Rural Life magazine. Jenny thoroughly enjoys producing and presenting her own weekly radio show ‘Your Voice’ on Black Cat Radio 102.5FM which i all about food, farming and fishing. 

"I had never before seen a real life combine harvester until I met my arable farming husband, John, on a blind date. I was absolutely ashamed at my own personal ignorance about food provenance, and since that life pivotal moment, I am now so passionate about reaching out and bridging that gap between food producer and consumer and to shout loud and proud about the great work that farmers and fishermen do all over the world. The Country Trust does just that for school children here in the UK; nurturing our next generation and championing the hard work that British farmers do to help put food on our tables. Educating young school children about farming and food is at the heart of The Country Trust and it's a great privilege to be an Ambassador for such a positive and significant charity."

Sophie Green - Environmentalist

Sophie Green has been passionate about education and the natural world since she was a young girl. Inspired, like us all by the magnificent David Attenborough; she believes our connection with nature is paramount. It is after all key to our survival and is our only life-support system.

During the pandemic, she helped Chester Zoo to call on the government to lead the charge to saving all zoos from extinction.