Team member

Chris Walsh

Co-founder & Co-ordinator

Chris is an accomplished social entrepreneur and has helped establish two of Manchester’s biggest and best-loved social enterprises; Bridge 5 Mill eco-centre (along with co-founder Helen) and Fairfield Environment Services. He then went on to co-found Kindling in 2007, when "a group of like-minded people came together to explore solutions to our increasingly industrialised food system and the health and economic inequities it produces.”

Chris also sits on the working groups for the Enlightened Agriculture Fund and Sustain’s Waste Management Social Enterprise group, and was a Trustee of the Real Farming Trust. He is a director of Bridge 5 Mill and is a Trustee of the Fairfield Environment Trust, which supports organisations making Greater Manchester greener, healthier and more equitable.

Bio:

Day to day, Chris works closely with Helen to co-ordinate Kindling’s many projects, as well as preparing for the purchase of the Kindling Farm. He puts his practical skills to use at the ever-evolving Woodbank Community Food Hub, whether planting crops or designing and crafting new pieces of infrastructure. Having been instrumental in its establishment as a Kindling enterprise, Chris is also an active worker-member of Veg Box People.

Pre-Kindling, Chris co-founded Kindling's current home - Bridge 5 Mill eco-centre, as well as Fairfield Environment Services, which annually diverts around 6,000 tonnes of food waste away from landfill. He continues to serve The Mill as a director and is also a trustee of the Fairfield Environment Trust, which supports organisations making Greater Manchester greener, healthier and more equitable.

Chris comes from a long line of farm labourers and was the first member of his family to attend University. He studied Physics, which has equipped him with a scientific rigour that helps distinguish between fact and fiction! His biggest frustration is watching our city’s leaders move from one excuse to another when it comes to their inaction on climate change and food inequality. “Their dogmatic belief that economic growth and global inward investment will solve these two ingrained problems is a challenge to organisations like ours”.

Chris shares his many capabilities with others in the sector, sitting on working groups for the Enlightened Agriculture Fund and Sustain’s Waste Management Social Enterprise group.  In 2013 Kindling generously loaned him to Australia’s Open Food Network, where he spent five hot weeks sharing his knowledge of some of Greater Manchester’s pioneering co-operative food solutions. 

 

Email: chris@kindling.org.uk