Skye Macfarlane

Skye Macfarlane is the Southern Regional Coordinator for Garden to Table, a national charity equipping tamariki with practical food skills by teaching them to grow, harvest, prepare and share fresh kai in their schools. With over a decade of experience in education, natural health, and public health, she works with 24 schools across Otago, Central Otago, and Southland to embed hands-on food education into the curriculum, helping to build lifelong skills, resilience, and stronger communities.  

Based in Mihiwaka, just outside Ōtepoti (Dunedin), Skye and her husband established and continue to grow the Bio-Gro certified organic market garden Vern Paddock Project, with more than 180 garden beds producing fresh seasonal crops and medicinal herbs for local cafés, restaurants, supermarkets, and the natural health company Wild Dispensary. She holds a Bachelor of Natural Medicine from the South Pacific College of Natural Medicine (qualified naturopath, medical herbalist, and nutritionist) and a postgraduate qualification in Public health from the University of Otago. She heads up naturopathy and formulation for Wild Dispensary, developing innovative, evidence-based plant formulas that support health and wellbeing.

At the Wao Summit, Skye will show how Garden to Table is growing more than just food; it is building skills, local resilience, and a deeper connection between tamariki, their communities, and the land that sustains us.

Skye will be speaking at the Food Resilience Day Tour at Wao Summit 2025.