Women In Wellies

Rosie is a cut flower farmer and florist, and the owner of Scottish flower farm, Rosie Louise Cut Flowers. She grows on a 1/2 acre site near Edinburgh, using organic and no-dig practices. Join us as Rosie shares the challenges she has overcome to uncover her love for horticulture, her passion for nature and more about her beautiful flower farm. The farm focuses on producing seasonal focal flowers with fragrance and a garden style, and supplies to florists in Edinburgh, Midlothian and the Scottish Borders. Rosie discusses her pathway from folk musician to flower farmer, the challenges faced along the way and what inspires her to never give up. This is a conversation filled with joy, enthusiasm and a deep rooted love for the path Rosie has ended up on - definitely one to be enjoyed out in the sunshine if possible!The Women in Wellies Podcast is sponsored by Scottish Law firm, Gillespie Macandrew, advising on all areas of land & rural business, private client, energy and real estate.Connect with Rosie on social media : LinkedIn - Rosie Archbold \\ Instagram -  @rosielouisecutflowers Find out more about Rosemains Steading here : https://www.rosemains.co.uk/Episode Recorded on 21st March 2025.All views expressed are our own.

Anna Hock joins me from the beautiful surroundings of Islay. Anna runs Orsay Sea Salt and Orsay Seafood - a seafood shack alongside juggling the chaos of life as a mum and a fisherman’s wife. Our conversations takes us from sea salt production to the challenges of island life. Listen in as Anna shares from her childhood growing up on Jura, her move to Islay and working across a variety of industries from distilleries to social work before becoming a Mum. We go on the journey of establishing Orsay Sea Salt through three seasons of harvesting to where they are today including a mouth watering description of the crab dirty fries that you’ll be able to get from Orsay Seafood before too long! Anna’s drive and determination shines through - particularly when it comes to planning permission - alongside the power of community, the luxury of nature’s larder and her absolute passion for all she does! Connect with Anna and Orsay Sea Salt on social media : Instagram - @orsayseasalt and @orsayseafood \\ Facebook - Orsay Sea Salt \\ Website - https://www.orsayseasalt.co.uk/Episode Recorded on 21st March 2025.All views expressed are our own.

Steph Hepburn is a well known face across rural Scotland and joins me from our capital city, Edinburgh, which she calls home. Steph is a partner at Shepherd and Wedderburn and leads their Rural Disputes team who work across rural Scotland to avoid and resolve disputes. Our conversation takes us from a marketing degree to the working mum life balance, to becoming part of the rural sector and plenty more besides. Join us as Steph takes us from growing up in inner city Edinburgh - no farming families, crofters or rural landowners there - through her career. Steph has embraced opportunities, not been afraid to forge her own path and has, like many of us, ended where she is today thanks to nudges along the way from key individuals and seizing opportunities when things didn’t go the way she thought. We talk about the power of people - a theme common to the Women in Wellies Podcast - including the value of relationships in business, the connection and the use of LinkedIn (no surprise there if you know Steph!). Steph shares some memorable career moments including a herd of sheep and some horses - definitely not where she thought she’s be when she first went to Stirling Uni to study marketing! We round out the episode with some brilliant advice for the next generation, as always - I love these gems of wisdom! Connect with Stephanie on social media : LinkedIn - Stephanie Hepburn Episode Recorded on 14th March 2025.All views expressed are our own.

Jo Morris is a farmer, mum, wife, solicitor, snug host, star of ‘This Farming Life’ and now podcast guest, just to get us started and joins me in conversation from their “new” family farm in Fife. Jo takes us on the journey of change they have been on as a family to build a resilient future through a move from Caithness where her husband’s family had farmed for 5 generations, to the heart of Fife. Jo provides a real perspective on the challenges of moving, the reality of learning new land, new livestock and the changes this has brought their family. She tells us more about being on BBC’s ‘This Farming Life’ with camera crews joining them on the farm and their decision to bring openness and transparency to their story in this series. We discuss the balancing act of being a practicing solicitor alongside farming and building guaranteed income into their business model as they plan for their future including the Snug’s and veg growers. Most of all, Jo’s dedication to her family first shines through our conversation. Connect with Jo Morris on social media : LinkedIn - Joanna Morris \\ Instagram -  @logie_farm_fifeCheck out ‘This Farming Life’ on BBC iPlayer. Episode Recorded on 12th February 2025.All views expressed are our own.

The Women in Wellies Podcast is back for Season 2 and I am delighted to be behind the microphone with a fantastic line up of guests. M.T. O’Donnell, founder and editor of the Scotland Grows Magazine, joins me for this conversation. M.T.’s magazine and her podcast of the same name, celebrate real gardening in Scotland with real advice from those gardening across the country. Join us as M.T. takes us from her days as a high school english teacher to where her love for all things gardening came from. She shares about her own garden and the joy of mixing edibles with flowers - as well as eating the peas straight from the plant, if you know you know! We dive into the health and well-being benefits of gardening from memory to self esteem and plenty more besides and what an encouragement to spend an hour outside in the garden and get something growing this season! We discuss where the magazine originated from and the opportunities M.T. has created for real gardeners to share real experience from Shetland to East Lothian and everywhere in between alongside M.T.’s passion for sharing the power of podcasting through workshops and supporting those keen to get started. A familiar Women in Wellies theme, community and connecting with others, once again comes up. So here’s your encouragement to get green fingered this summer - what are you going to grow to bring you that joy and perhaps a tasty treat or 2? Connect with M.T. and Scotland Grows on social media : LinkedIn - M.T. O’Donnell and Scotland Grows Magazine \\ Instagram -  @scotlandgrowsEpisode Recorded on 10th February 2025.All views expressed are our own.

With so much change, legislative and otherwise, we’re bringing a new angle to the Women in Wellies Podcast and it kicks off with a fantastic trio of experts from across rural Scotland in our first educational episode. Jennifer Campbell brings her land agency perspective from DM Hall, Leanne Gordon brings her legal expertise from Lindsays and Lucy Crow talks tax and accountancy from Henderson Loggie. Through this episode Jennifer, Leanne and Lucy discuss three case studies to bring to life scenarios you may come across as part of your rural business and provide pointers for questions you should discuss as a family, or with those involved in the farming business. We all know how challenging these conversations can be, a tough topic to bring up around the table at the farm particularly around the future. Jennifer, Leanne and Lucy want to encourage and inspire you to have these difficult conversations, to think about what you want from the future and perhaps even write a wishlist! A totally different episode for you, kicking off our new season!Connect with Jennifer Campbell on social media : LinkedIn - Jennifer Campbell \ DM HallConnect with Leanne Gordon on social media : LinkedIn - Leanne Gordon \ Lindsays LLPConnect with Lucy Crow on social media : LinkedIn - Lucy Crow \ Henderson LoggieEpisode Recorded on 4th March 2025.All views expressed are our own.

Deirdre Stewart is Programme Director for the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, leading the Trust’s project at Dalnacardoch, Blair Atholl. Having been a practising land agent for well over 20 years with a focus on the management of upland estates across Perthshire, Angus and Deeside, Deirdre brings her passion for all things rural, with a focus on deer and wildlife management to our conversation. Join us as Deirdre takes us from growing up as a crofter’s daughter in Inverness-shire with days spent rolling wool, plucking grouse and getting her hands dirty through university, life as a female land agent and on to life as a female factor! Deirdre reminisces on highs and lows, the challenges and opportunities she has been afforded over the course of her career so far and the fantastic people she has met, collaborated with, worked alongside and had the privilege of learning from. We discuss change in the sector, the impact of a new type of landowner and the opportunities this presents for new skills and therefore people to enter rural Scotland. An often familiar theme across Women in Wellies episodes, we chat about self-confidence and the power of having conviction, a firm footing in your knowledge.Deirdre rounds out season 1 of Women in Wellies and her episode with some fantastic advice and another endorsement for the Scottish Rural Leadership Programme!Connect with Deirdre on social media : LinkedIn - Deirdre Stewart \\ Instagram -  @deirdrefstewart Episode Recorded on 10th July & 27th August 2024.All views expressed are our own.

In the third of our ‘Next Generation’ episodes we are joined by Hailey Anderson. Hailey is a gamekeeper in the Scottish Borders working on a low ground pheasant shoot having joined the business working in the kitchens at the age of 13. Join us as Hailey shares her journey from the kitchens to joining the keepering team, how she has found her place as a young female in a traditionally male dominated environment and her passion is certainly infectious. The journey from beating in her pink wellies and yellow waterproof to the pride in rearing the pheasants and seeing a successful shoot day demonstrate Hailey’s determination to succeed.Hailey shares how her Papa was her inspiration, how those around her who she has worked with have built her confidence and how she has built physical strength to conquer the demands of the job. We discuss college, the future of the sector and inspiring others to consider roles within the rural sector through her work with Scotland’s Regional Moorland Groups before rounding out the conversation with her goals for where she’d like to be in five years time! We certainly can’t wait to see all Hailey achieves next so do tune in and hear what she has to say!This episode is sponsored by the Landed Estates and Rural Business Team at Henderson Loggie Chartered Accountants.Connect with Hailey on social media : Instagram : @haileyanderson05 \\ Tiktok : @haileyanderson151  Episode Recorded on 28th July 2024All views expressed are our own.

Eleanor Kay is Senior Policy Advisor - Agriculture & Climate Change at Scottish Land & Estates. Eleanor is a passionate advocate for farming and integrated land management, working with land managers and partners to develop clear messages for influencing policy makers and seeker of solutions for land managers looking to adapt to climate change and work with nature. Join us as Eleanor’s passion for people, agriculture and her time working with peas all come together in this conversation. Eleanor shares how her upbringing in an agricultural family shaped her love for the sector and how she overcame challenges of deafness and extensive surgery to thrive at school, develop a love for learning and research and instill her love for reasoned arguments and challenging assumptions.Eleanor discusses her roles with Scottish Land & Estates, the US Embassy and the draw of a return to domestic policy and “doing it for my own farmers” with a return to Scottish Land & Estates at a time of change for policy in the UK. We discuss the importance of representative voices influencing our policy making and the determination Eleanor brings. She also shares her experience of reaching an Endometriosis diagnosis, the impact this has had on her and draws a fantastic comparison between land management / farming and managing endo. We round out the episode chatting about Women in Agriculture Scotland, the Farmer’s Club and Cricket!Find out more about Scottish Land & Estates here : https://www.scottishlandandestates.co.uk/This episode is sponsored by the Rural Scotland team at Savills.Connect with Eleanor on social media - LinkedIn - Eleanor Kay \\ X - @agrieleanor \\ Instagram - @Eleanor_AgriEpisode Recorded on 16th July 2024All views expressed are our own.