PEAR FEST ‘24Put the date in your diary. Tickets available from April

Adam Alexander is a consummate story-teller thanks to forty years as a successful and award-winning film and television producer. His films have included documentaries about little-known cultures, (A Year in Tibet), popular food series, (Return to Tuscany, The Urban Chef) and gardening programmes, (A Year at Kew, A Garden for Eden). He has won awards for culturally important ethnographic series including, Hughesovka, Eutopia, Unholy Land and Russian Wonderland. He has appeared on CNN’s Going Green, BBC’s Gardeners’ World and The Great British Food Revival and numerous radio stations around the world talking about his work saving and sharing rare, endangered and delicious vegetables. He has written for National Geographic Magazine, The Organic Way, The Sustainable Food Trust, The Cottage Garden Society.

His latest project is to encourage people to reconnect with their local food culture by reviving local varieties held by the HSL and also heirlooms he has discovered in the UK. These are being grown by market gardeners and re-introduced to communities through farmers markets, local shops and veg-box schemes. Local growers are also being provided with seed to grow out and bulk up supply for commercial use.

He is in demand as a consultant and advisor to private gardens and institutions wanting to showcase British heritage crops. His book The Adventures of a Seed Detective was published in 2022 and his new book, The Accidental Plant Breeder will be published in March 2025

We are proud to introduce Roger Morgan-Grenville, a distinguished new addition to the Pear Fest ’24 line-up. Roger is a prolific writer, eloquent speaker, and dedicated campaigner on issues pertaining to nature and biodiversity, particularly within the United Kingdom. His work is driven by an acute awareness of the stark biodiversity loss that has occurred within our lifetimes, with the sobering statistic that we have effectively lost half of what we once had.

Roger approaches his mission with a unique blend of hope and realism, intertwining science with personal anecdotes to craft narratives that resonate with humanity's role in both the degradation and potential restoration of nature. He is a staunch advocate for the Eurasian Curlew, working tirelessly to restore Britain’s largest wader to a robust population. Moreover, he campaigns fervently to re-establish Natural History as a core element of education for all children, ensuring that knowledge and respect for the natural world is not a privilege, but a right.

Before dedicating himself to the conservation of nature, Roger served with distinction in the Royal Green Jackets for nine years, with deployments across five continents. His adventurous spirit led him to lead the first successful expedition retracing Shackleton’s remarkable journey across South Georgia, showcasing his leadership and tenacity.

Born amidst the rich cultural tapestries of the UK and Iran, and enriched by his experiences in the southwestern USA, Souren Ala returned to the UK in 1998 equipped with a diverse background. After earning an advanced degree in Geology, Souren embarked on a successful 15-year career in hydrocarbon exploration and contaminated land investigation/remediation, before a profound shift led him to his true passion—horticulture.

A self-taught horticulturist, Souren’s professional journey in garden design began at the millennium's turn following the completion of a Level II RHS certificate. Over the past 23 years, his dedication to garden design, creation, planting, and maintenance has transformed numerous landscapes, each infused with sustainable and innovative practices.

Since 2014, Souren has been a vibrant voice in "The Hardy Plant," the prestigious journal of the Hardy Plant Society, and he took the helm as editor in 2019. He has a deep-seated passion for bulbs and wildflower meadows, the latter being the focus of his upcoming talk. A recognised authority in this field, Souren will share his extensive knowledge and practical tips on creating thriving wildflower meadows, demonstrating how they can enhance biodiversity and beauty in any space.

Join us at our conference to gain invaluable insights from Souren on how to design and nurture wildflower meadows, drawing from his vast expertise and innovative approach to gardening.

Monique Parker is a qualified nutritionist and author of the book ‘Conversations on the Lost Connection with Nature’. She is passionate about nature in all its forms, especially the effects it has on our life, health, and well-being.

Having experienced the healing qualities of nature herself and having witnessed it in her clients and many other people, she always wanted to share the message about the special relationship we all have, consciously or unconsciously, with nature, the benefits for our health and well-being, and the necessity to restore this lost connection to save our planet and our future.

Monique has a strong interest in food, not just the growing, cooking and eating of it, but also the issues of our broken food system, and of course the link between food and health, which also features in her book.

She will be talking about the how and why of the book, her relationship with nature, and about the inspiring people who contributed to her book.

Our CEO will be talking about the journey he is on to use agroecological methods on the land at our HQ in Worcestershire to improve the soil and biodiversity and how this ties in with improving the health of our citizens and cutting the burden of chronic disease.

He will show how the technology that Black Pear pioneers can aid in social prescribing of lifestyle interventions to make this available to patients at scale alongside work he is doing as a trustee of the PHC.

Russ Carrington was the driving force behind the Knepp Estate's regenerative agriculture project in West Sussex. A former civil engineer and regenerative farmer, Russ has devoted himself to helping food production and rural societies become fit for the future. Knepp pioneered the use of free-roaming grazing animals which transformed Knepp into a wildlife haven. Knepp was once an intensively farmed estate that has become a leading example of how low-cost rewilding methods can restore ecological health and create a thriving rural economy.

Russ was brought in to set up a regenerative farm alongside the rewilding area at Knepp to produce beef, eggs and vegetables. He will tell how this can kick-start ecological restoration and benefit the environment and local communities everywhere. Russ was also a founder and later general manager of the Pasture Fed Livestock Association, working with farmers around the UK and Ireland to produce 100% grass-fed beef, lamb and milk.

Dr. Jenny Goodman, a seasoned ecological doctor, will also grace our festival with her expertise. With over two decades of experience, Dr. Goodman is a strong proponent of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine. Her philosophy is grounded in the belief that diet, reduced toxin exposure, and lifestyle adjustments are critical in treating chronic conditions and improving overall well-being. Dr. Goodman will not only share her insights into ecological medicine but will also give us a preview of her upcoming book, which promises to be a significant contribution to the field.

Prepare to be inspired by these extraordinary individuals who are not just experts in their fields but also passionate about sharing their knowledge to make a difference in the world. Their sessions are designed to be a transformative experience for anyone interested in the intersection of health, diet, and sustainable living.

Giancarlo and Kate Caldesi had a string of successful Italian restaurants and cookery schools across London but their life was changed when Giancarlo was diagnosed with diabetes. Suddenly the energetic Italian chef was overweight and depressed with excruciating pain. But when a nutritionist friend suggested he do the unthinkable and drop the pizza, pasta and bread in favour of a low carb diet his condition was transformed. Now the couple have co-authored a low carb cookbook to combat diabetes and created gluten free pasta recipes as well as finding alternatives to pastry, bread and pizza.

You can read about their healthy recipes at https://www.thegoodkitchentable.com/. They will be doing a demonstration of how to prepare some of these as well as helping to provide the food at Pear Fest so you can sample first-hand how healthy food can also be delicious