Shows
HighGroundFarm Management: From Infantry Officer to Velcourt Farm ManagerThis episode features Ollie Pemberton, a former infantry platoon commander who now works as a farm manager for Velcourt. After leaving the military, Ollie explored several careers—including teaching mathematics and running a furniture factory in Vietnam—before studying agriculture at the Royal Agricultural University.A chance encounter with Velcourt at a recruitment fair led him into farm management. Ollie explains that farm managers oversee day‑to‑day operations and long‑term strategy. They may be responsible for arable production, livestock, and estate management, and they lead teams of field workers, agronomists and specialistsnationaltrustjobs.org.uk.Duties c...
2025-12-1840 min
HighGroundEstate Management: Rob Honan on Leadership, Community & OpportunityHighGround speaks with Rob Honan, a former Worcestershire & Sherwood Foresters officer who now runs the 4 000‑acre Ascott Estate in Buckinghamshire. Rob describes his journey from the Army into estate management, explaining that many estates encompass a mix of arable and livestock farming, residential and commercial properties, sporting ventures and tourismedenprivatestaff.com.Estate managers are responsible for planning and overseeing these activities; they direct staff, oversee agriculture, manage maintenance and budgets, liaise with government agencies (DEFRA and the Rural Payments Agency) and work with specialists such as agronomists and vetsedenprivatestaff.com.The role is hands‑on, requ...
2025-12-1835 min
HighGroundDeer Management: Adam Chant’s Journey from Signals Intelligence to the Devon CountrysideThis episode of the HighGround podcast features Adam Chant, a former Royal Corps of Signals electronic‑warfare specialist who transitioned to a rural portfolio career centred on deer management. After 25 years in the Army, Adam was ready for a change and discovered HighGround via a segment on BBC’s Countryfile.He enrolled on one of the charity’s residential Rural Week courses at Bicton College, finding the broad overview of land‑based careers and local networking invaluable. Already passionate about venison as a sustainable, ethical food source, he pursued formal qualifications through the British Deer Society, passing the Deer...
2025-12-1844 min
HighGroundEntrepreneur: Rob Palmer and BiocharIn this episode, HighGround co‑hosts Tom Constable and Jamie Crisp explore entrepreneurial life in the land‑based sector through the story of Rob Palmer, a former RAF weapons‑systems engineer and Royal Engineer officer who now leads a biochar start‑up.Rob candidly recounts his meandering journey: after dropping out of university and joining the RAF, he saw his Nimrod fleet cancelled on the day of his final exam. He transferred to the Army via Sandhurst, serving in bomb disposal, airborne engineering and training roles before deciding to leave the forces.Rob initially pursued “safe” corp...
2025-12-1842 min
HighGroundChampioning Veterans in the Rural Economy: Dr Charles Trotman of the CLAIn this HighGround episode, hosts Tom Constable and Jamie Crisp speak with Dr Charles Trotman, Senior Economics and Rural Business Advisor at the Country Land & Business Association (CLA). Charles sets the scene with statistics: predominantly rural areas contributed about £315 billion (16.2% of England’s economy) in 2022 lordslibrary.parliament.uk, yet agriculture makes up only 3% of rural GVAlordslibrary.parliament.uk.Rural England hosts around 590 businesses per 10 000 people, more than urban areaslordslibrary.parliament.uk, and roughly 102 400 farm holdings operate across Englandgov.uk. Despite this diversity, many rural businesses face acute labour shortages. Recognising the untapped potential of service‑leavers and veter...
2025-12-1828 min
HighGroundSmallholding & Entrepreneurship: Mark Rees’ Journey from the Army to Gotland GinThis episode of the HighGround podcast explores life on a smallholding and the realities of farm diversification. Host Tom Constable welcomes Mark Rees, a 22‑year Army veteran who, with his family, bought a smallholding in Devon and began rearing Gotland sheep—a Swedish breed prized for its lustrous wool and tender meatlivingwithgotlands.com.Mark explains that a smallholding is generally a home with land bigger than a garden but smaller than a farm—anything under about 50 acresarbtech.co.uk. To make his 20‑acre holding viable, Mark diversified: he started fencing and gardening businesses, trained in butchery and project...
2025-12-1837 min
HighGroundHorticulture / GardenerIn this episode of the HighGround podcast, hosts Tom Constable and HighGround CEO Jamie Crisp visit the National Trust’s Killerton Estate in Devon to speak with Karl Emmeleus, head gardener and a long‑time supporter of HighGround’s Rural Weeks. Karl retrained from secondary‑school teaching into horticulture more than two decades ago and has worked his way up through the National Trust to manage one of its largest gardens.He explains that Killerton’s estate spans 6,400 acres of farmland, woods and parkland nationaltrust.org.uk, while the formal garden he manages covers about 18 acres with everything...
2025-12-1834 min
HighGroundTransitioning from the Military to the Land‑Based SectorHighGround’s new podcast series explores careers in the land‑based sector for service leavers, veterans and reservists. Hosts Tom Constable and HighGround CEO Jamie Crisp open by explaining how the podcast complements the charity’s residential Rural Weeks programme, providing free, on‑demand advice to anyone considering outdoor careers.In this first episode they speak with Lieutenant General Richard Nugee CB CVO CBE, chair of The Forces Trust, about why he sponsored the series and how military skills transfer to land‑based work. He explains that veterans often crave teamwork and the freedom of working outdoors, and that r...
2025-12-181h 02
HighGroundArborist: Jamie’s Journey into Self‑Employment in TreesHighGround chats with Jamie, a former Royal Corps of Signals soldier who left the Army after 22 years and built a second career as an arborist. Unsure of his next steps, Jamie attended a HighGround Rural Week, which introduced him to the breadth of land‑based careers. He discovered arboriculture—an industry that encompasses tree planting, pruning, felling, habitat management and tree science.Training is essential: standard entry‑level qualifications include certificates in chainsaw maintenance and cross‑cutting, felling trees up to 380 mm and climbing and aerial rescuebali.org.uk. Tree surgeons typically start on salaries around £25 k and exper...
2025-12-1840 min
HighGroundMobile Agricultural Technician: From RAF Supply to Tractor TroubleshooterIn this episode of the HighGround podcast, hosts Tom and Jamie talk with Martin, a former RAF supplier who spent much of his 23‑year career in tactical logistics roles and as a fleet manager. Seeking an outdoor career after years behind a desk, Martin began helping on a local farm and rediscovered his love of engineering.A HighGround Rural Week at Askham Bryan College opened his eyes to the demand for agricultural technicians, and he went on to join a John Deere dealership. Today he is a mobile agricultural technician, travelling across the Cotswolds, Devon and Wales to...
2025-12-1830 min
HighGroundCountryside Manager: Josie’s Non‑Linear Path to Nature RecoveryIn this episode, Tom and Jamie talk with Josie, a National Trust countryside manager in North Devon. Josie’s career has been anything but straightforward: she left school after GCSEs, trained as a mechanic and served five years in the REME before embarking on higher education. With life experience but no A‑levels, she contacted universities directly, persuaded them to give her a chance and eventually worked her way up to a PhD.Burnt out by academia, she turned to nature and began volunteering with the National Trust, living in a tent for six months while supporting hers...
2025-12-1843 min
REXREX April 2nd - Stu Davison from HighGround Dairy, Arjun Haszard from Quick Brown Fox Coffee Liqueur and Nick Fisher from Meet the NeedOn today's REX Daily Podcast, Dom talks with Stu Davison from HighGround Dairy about the latest Global Dairy Trade Event (+1.1%), Stu's imminent return to the US after his Kiwi summer sojourn and the Liam Lawson F1 saga... He talks with Arjun Haszard, founder of Quick Brown Fox Coffee Liqueur, about visiting coffee bean farmers in Sumatra and Colombia, how and why he started the company and the use of NZ dairy in its products... And he talks with newly-appointed Meet the Need Chair Nick Fisher about the importance of the farmer-led food charity, what he brings to the role...
2025-04-0242 min
Wilder PodcastEp. 024: Keystone Species - BeaversWhy do beavers create dams? How do they enhance the ecosystem around them? What is getting in the way of their return? As a Project Officer with the Welsh Beaver Project, Alicia Leow-Dyke is the perfect guest to introduce us to the beaver and their importance within the British Landscape. *********SIGN UP for the COMMUNITY DAY: https://www.grangeproject.co.uk/volunteers-day*********Your Hosts:Tom Constable: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-constable/Chloe Constable: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chloe-constable-24155821b/If you’re interested in finding out mor...
2024-06-2242 min
HighGroundHighGround Podcast Overview: Your gateway to Land-based EmploymentEpisode Summary:Welcome to the HighGround Podcast, the definitive guide for service leavers, veterans, and reservists exploring new career opportunities in the land-based sectors. Launched by HighGround, a charity dedicated to providing life beyond the military, our podcast is hosted by Jamie Crisp, CEO of HighGround, and Tom Constable, both British Army veterans.Each episode of the HighGround Podcast is designed to help you navigate the transition from military to civilian employment by highlighting potential jobs that align with your skillset. We focus on a specific job role in every episode, split into two insightful...
2024-05-2908 min
Wilder PodcastEp. 023: There will be Leaves on the Mountain Again with Rob PennRob graciously takes us back to woodland basics in this fascinating episode as we consider the role of trees in addressing the climate and ecological crises. We discuss the unique opportunities presented by the Welsh uplands, the (successful) efforts of bracken to take over the world and the innovative techniques developed by Stump up For Trees as they seek to plant one million trees across the Brecon Beacons. *****************************************************Keen to join the WhatsApp community?Follow this link: https://chat.whatsapp.com/CrMABch050S1BjiPliTE9h*****************************************************Your Hosts:Tom C...
2024-05-2550 min
The Wellbeing Garden with Cath Manuel014 – Life Beyond the Military – Outdoors, with Anna Baker CresswellThe benefits of gardening activities and a connection with nature have been documented since ancient times. Anyone who has enjoyed getting their hands in the dirt, body in the sunshine or even smelt a flower understands the complete joy in being outdoors. In this episode I’m joined by Anna Baker Cresswell, who is the Development Director of HighGround, UK’s leading charity successfully delivering Horticultural Therapy to seriously injured members of the British Armed Forces. We discuss… How Anna began her journey into Horticultural Therapy. Honouring her mother through gardening programs. Formin...
2017-07-0728 min