sheila das

Having changed career in the early 2000’s, Sheila studied at Kew, worked for English Heritage, and was a garden manager at RHS Garden Wisley with responsibility for Education, Edibles, Seed and Wellbeing until 2024. Sheila’s time at Wisley included the development of the hilltop landscape which features gardens for Wildlife, Wellbeing and Food as well as the reimagination of the Wisley orchard to demonstrate a more nature focused approach to fruit growing. Sheila is passionate about growing food in sustainable ways to support planetary and human health and interpreting the gardener's role as a custodian of place from past to present to future. Sheila is well known for being committed to soil health and looks to develop thoughts around how systems connect and how people can rediscover and celebrate their role in that connection. Sheila is now Head of Gardens and Parks at the National Trust as the Trust embarks upon the delivery of its ‘People and Nature Thriving’ strategy.  

With a firm commitment to horticultural training, Sheila has been a trustee for the Professional Gardeners’ Trust, a co-founder of the Gardener X exchange scheme and is now a Trustee for the Beth Chatto Education Trust