Programme Staff Profiles
HBGTP Manager
Elinor oversees the HBGTP, co-ordinating host gardens, programme staff, college lecturers, and freelance tutors. She works closely with colleagues within English Heritage, and with external partners such as the PGG and the RHS. Her current focus is on evaluating the progress of the HBGTP to date and planning for the future. However, she is always happy to talk to trainees and provide advice on their next steps.
Elinor started her career as a landscape gardener in 2005, before moving on to attain a BSc in Horticulture from Reading University.
Elinor has since gained extensive experience in both the private and public landscape sectors. She developed her interest in historic landscapes during an internship with English Heritage’s Gardens & Landscape Team.
On completion of this internship Elinor worked with a woodland management company, expanding her interest and experience in arboriculture. After this post she returned to university, completing an MA in Landscape Architecture at Sheffield University in 2013. More recently, Elinor has worked as a Landscape Manager for The Environment Partnership.
HBGTP Administrator (on maternity leave until January 2026)
Emma Newey is a homeworker and provides administrative support for the training programme, acting as a contact for trainees and placement gardens. As HBGTP Administrator, she supports the recruitment process, manages the HBGTP website and helps to organise events. Emma also manages the content across our various social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.
Emma previously worked as a Personal Assistant in the NHS and Internal Communications & Engagement Advisor at the BBC.
HBGTP Administrator (maternity cover until January 2026)
Cecelia Wood is a homeworker and provides administrative support for the HBGTP training programme, acting as a contact for trainees and placement gardens.
Cecelia has a background in graphic design, first studying this to Masters level and working on projects for diverse organisations.
Her interest in the natural world and gardens led her to study RHS Practical Horticulture and Garden Design at Plumpton College, East Sussex. This study enabled her to become a horticultural apprentice at One Garden Brighton, a restored walled garden now open to the public. She worked with a knowledgeable team as well as the garden’s dedicated volunteers in both the garden and on-site nursery.
Cecelia then went onto working in a technical department of a large commercial ornamental plant nursery, before joining the HBGTP team.
