Ben Whelan is a founder and the Managing Director of Sustainable Ireland Cooperative Society Ltd. which initiated the Cultivate Centre in Temple Bar. He was the lead promoter and instigator behind the Greenhouse Centre in Dublin. Ben has developed and overseen Cultivate’s programmes and activities over its 12 years of operation. He has taught and published in many areas of sustainability including permaculture, bioregionalism and local economics. He holds a BA from Trinity College Dublin in Theology and Ancient History and an MA in Liberal Arts from Naropa College, Colorado.

Ben is a founding member of North Tipperary Green Enterprise Park and a current board member, a founding member of the Environmental and Sustainable Construction Association (Éasca) and current board member, a Director of Re-Dress (the Better Fashion Initiative), on the governance committee member for the Regional Centre of Expertise in Education for Sustainable Development in Ireland. Previously he has worked as the Coordinator for the Asset Development group at the Cloughjordan Ecovillage and in the development of the overall Strategic and Land Plan for the Eco-Village.