GIA (Gardening In Action) CIC is a Community Interest Company which seeks to grow the joy of gardening and volunteering in everyone. We aim to enrich lives, build communities, increase employment opportunities, advocate good horticultural practice, and positively impact the environment.
We offer practical support to community gardens and volunteer groups, delivering free, friendly and inclusive workshops.
We’ve created the Growing Community Toolkit, a free resource for community groups, delivered via online resources and in-person workshops and events.
We’re responsible for Seaford Community Orchard and the station gardens at Falmer and Seaford
We run an inclusive horticultural into-work programme to help people into employment.
We’ve secured funding to set up a Gardening Tool Library for community groups.
Gardening In Action is led by Dan Ori, MCIHort, whose passion for plants spans over 30 years. Starting with garden work at age 15, Dan has built expertise across nearly every area of horticulture—tree surgery, landscaping, estate and head gardening, plant sales, retail management, and specialist teaching for diverse communities.
He has cared for thousands of trees as an arborist and forester in East Sussex and worked in renowned gardens such as Bolney Manor, Sheffield Park, and Walstead Place. Commercially, his experience includes Wyevale Garden Centres, Stone Cross Nurseries, and Millbrook Garden Centre.
Qualified in Horticulture, Arboriculture and Forestry, Dan is pursuing the RHS Master of Horticulture and is a certified Square Foot Gardening instructor. He also writes and reviews for magazines, including Horticulture Magazine
Margery Diamand is an experienced and RHS qualified gardener and has lived in Seaford for over 20 years with her family. She is a well-known community volunteer and trustee of Trees for Seaford and Seaford Action for Nature, supporting local conservation and green initiatives.
Our huge thanks to our supporters and funders, who make our work possible!