BIGGA Conference - South East England

Dr David Jones is a research biologist working on the ecological role of earthworms in soils. He is a Scientific Associate at the Natural History Museum in London, and is an external lecturer at Imperial College London teaching soil ecology. David has published more than 50 articles in scientific journals and books.

Owen is the Sustainability Officer working at England Golf. Having found a golf club in a hedge as an 11 year old, his love for the game developed into working both with the the greenkeeping team and hospitality team at his golf club. Owen then went to university to pursue his passion for environmental management, before amalgamating his loves for golf and the environment for the role at England Golf, starting in January 2022. Owen enjoys all sports, and is keen to develop a deeper understanding of how sport and the environment can benefit each other.

Matt is responsible for club, county and facility relationships, heading up the national club and county support team and offer. Matt joined England Golf in September 2019, having previously been general manager at Tadmarton Heath in Oxfordshire. 

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Jenny joined BIGGA in 2023 to lead on the workforce project to deliver First Green into the UK market and other initiatives to promote the greenkeeping profession.  With a background in education and in the NHS, Jenny's knowledge and skills are perfectly suited to the role.

James is head greenkeeper of the Old Course at Walton Heath, which he credits as the best achievement of his career so far.

James was a member of the Future Turf Managers Initiative Class of 2019 alongside fellow BIGGA delegate Scott Corrigan, which he said was a great help in gaining his position at Walton Heath, having worked at East Berkshire in a deputy role at the time.

James volunteered for the French Open at Le Golf National in 2019 and was part of the John Deere TPC Sawgrass Volunteer Programme in 2020 that was unfortunately cut short due to COVID-19.

“I am extremely passionate about Greenkeeping and achieving the best playing surfaces possible inline with the characteristics of Walton Heath,” said James. “I have a fantastic team here of passionate greenkeepers that constantly show lots of care and dedication about everything they do.”