Our Team
From its inception, the daily operations of Oakbrook Community Farm have been overseen by the volunteer Board of Directors who take responsibility for delivering the vision and values of the farm on behalf of the Community Benefit Society. The Directors are a mixture of Society members (shareholders) and co-opted colleagues who have been elected for the specific expertise they contribute. The farm is also supported numerous advisors who lend their experience and energy to the farm, usually by supporting a specific area of development. If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Director or an Advisor for Oakbrook, please get in touch.
David Lambert (Director) is a director of a small consultancy, The Parks Agency, specialising in the conservation of historic landscapes, especially public parks and gardens. He has lived in Stroud for the past five years, and has been an active member of the Labour Party and an organiser for Extinction Rebellion. He is currently studying on the two-year biodynamics course at Ruskin Mill. David plays a key role in organising tenant leases, ecological audits and construction projects for the farm, and also volunteers to bring the cows in for milking with Stroud Micro Dairy!
Leigh Coghill (Director and Administrator) is an experienced community organiser and lives near to Oakbrook with her young family. She joined the farm as a volunteer after moving from Bristol where she worked on the Adfree Cities campaign against corporate advertising. Prior to this she spent three years committed to the anti-fracking campaign in North Yorkshire. Leigh is a member of the Haven Steering Group and also takes on some paid administrative work for the farm.
Lucas Schoemaker (Director) spent years involved in biodynamic farming after which he has focussed on developing socially responsive enterprises in the third sector such as the Painswick Inn Project and developing property portfolios for organisations incorporating social housing, childcare and enterprise hubs, both here and abroad. He is currently also Spearheading Affordable Co-Housing initiatives with Housing Associations and is an active Green Party Councillor and BDLT board member. Lucas leads the board on matters relating to planning and construction, fundraising and adhering to biodynamic principles.
Jason Warland (Director) is a full-time horticulture, landscaping, and beekeeping tutor at Ruskin Mill College. He is passionate about biodynamics, and bringing people onto the land. Jason has a website where he shares his writings on biodynamics. Jason has a keen interest in beekeeping, and enjoys getting involved in the oakbrook farm volunteer days. He also built this website, and has taken on the Oakbrook social media.
Christian Gruetzmacher (Advisor on bees and site management) works as educator and has a background in craft and land work. He has led educational honeybee projects for many years and runs the bee garden and observatory at Oakbrook Farm.
Adam Biscoe (Fundraising Coordinator) moved to Stroud in 2009 and became a Member of Stroud Community Agriculture (and later a trustee), as well as a founder member of Folly Wood and Oakbrook Community Farm. Having previously worked in the higher education sector as a lecturer and quality assurance management, he is now spearheading our fundraising activities.
Sarah Jackson (Advisor on farming) is an essential ally for Oakbrook, bringing a wealth of expertise as an experienced Organic farmer in her own right. Sarah farms 120 acres in the neighbouring Slad Valley with a mixture of beef, lamb, timber and an acre of market garden. Sarah leads the board on government funding streams as well as advising on farm infrastructure and construction projects.
Martin Large (Advisor on fundraising) was a founding Director and inaugural Chair of OCBS, having previously raised the finance for buying the Oakbrook farmland for the Biodynamic Land Trust. He supports Oakbrook farm development, focusing on the Haven in particular. Martin has run publishers Hawthorn Press Ltd since 1981, and chaired Stroud Common Wealth since 1999, which enables social enterprise and community land trust development for farms, community facilities and housing. He lectured in management for many years in higher education.