helen5504
- Jun 1, 2022
- 4 min read

Growing Greener Spaces Update

The first part of our 2022 project Growing Greener Spaces, funded by the Uk Community Renewal Fund, has been a great success. So much has happened!

Our Growing Greener Spaces project has been a huge success. One arm of the work has been to develop and offer Green Skills courses, to individuals and growers. Our intention is to support growers and producers to inform and expand their practice, so that they can contribute to a shorter supply chain in Pembrokeshire, and also to inspire and motivate individuals to begin growing themselves at home.

Early in the year we ran a 10 week Beginners Gardening course at Clynfyw Care Farm. Our intention was to provide an opportunity for people with limited experience who wish to live sustainably, or become more self-reliant to connect with the local community growers, learn essential gardening skills and provide a solid foundation for building a productive edible growing space from scratch and create a community growing project from scratch. We provided a practical ten week course aimed at non-commercial individuals in the local community. The feedback was wonderful;

“I am really hoping to translate what I have learnt into my life - I feel like I can begin growing my own food now - I feel more confident in my approach” - Helena

At the end of April we ran a 2 day course and knowledge exchange on Korean Natural Farming Techniques. KNF is an ancient method that takes advantage of indigenous microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, nematodes and protozoa to produce fertile soils that yield high output without the use of herbicides, pesticides or even composting. We provided an opportunity for local practising farmers to learn about this incredible method of soil management from Joshua Sparkes who runs a 70 acre farm and restaurant in Devon using KNF, and invite them to share their thoughts, ideas and experiences in an ongoing knowledge exchange.

As part of our working growers offering, we invited Neils Corfield a regenerative farming consultant, to Brithdir Mawr Community to host a talk and practical workshop on soil filtration and soil health. This talk was attended by representatives from community projects across Wales as well as local Market gardeners and volunteer organisations, all seeking to improve their practice and share their work with the wider community.

We were also delighted to introduce New Leaf Microgreens to our family of collaborators and community engagement experts. Nick ran two courses in May aimed at individuals at home, our intention being to inspire, motivate and support people to start producing their own food at home on a small budget. Growing your own food and organic produce have long been stigmatised as high end, luxury life choices, however Indoor Vertical Farming and Introduction to Mushroom Cultivation in Urban and Rural Environments we held in Newport and demonstrated that we can all be resilient, eat good healthy food, on a small budget regardless of access to land.

Each participant went home ready to set up their own system at home, either with delicious micro-greens or their first mushroom culture to cultivate and grow on. 23 individual growing organisations signed up to participate in on-gong knowledge exchanges and we hosted over 80 people across the period. This is the first instalment of a wider project brought to you by the UK Community Renewal Fund. The UK Community Renewal Fund is a UK Government programme for

2021/22. This aims to support people and communities most in need across

the UK to pilot programmes and new approaches to prepare for the UK

Shared Prosperity Fund. It invests in skills, community and place, local

business, and supporting people into employment. For more information,

visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-community-renewal-fund-

prospectus

We are also delighted to announce that Grwp Resilience has been selected to receive the Pride in Pembrokeshire Award for March/April, sponsored by Pembrokeshire

College, a member of the Pembrokeshire Public Services Board (PSB), and in

partnership with the Western Telegraph. In arriving at their decision, panel members felt that the group brings together the

community to highlight the importance of the local environment and developing a

sustainable economy. The work of the group shows a strong volunteer base from

different walks of life to achieve the same goal, promoting community cohesion. The

panel were particularly impressed with development of green spaces for community

growing and raising awareness of sustainable activity to combat the climate

emergency, making a substantial contribution to improving the well-being of

individuals, and indeed towards the well-being of the County as a whole.

Mae’n bleser gennyf ddweud wrthych fod Grŵp Resilience wedi ei ddewis i dderbyn

Gwobr Balchder yn Sir Benfro ar gyfer mis Mawrth/Ebrill, a noddir gan Goleg Sir

Benfro, aelod o Fwrdd Gwasanaethau Cyhoeddus Sir Benfro, ac mewn partneriaeth

â’r Western Telegraph.

Wrth ddod i’w penderfyniad, roedd aelodau’r panel yn teimlo bod y grŵp yn dod â’r

gymuned gyda'i gilydd i amlygu pwysigrwydd yr amgylchedd lleol a datblygu economi

gynaliadwy. Mae gwaith y grŵp yn dangos bod ganddo sylfaen gref o wirfoddolwyr o

gefndiroedd gwahanol sy’n gweithio i gyrraedd yr un nod, gan hyrwyddo cydlyniant

cymunedol. Roedd y gwaith o ddatblygu mannau gwyrdd ar gyfer tyfu cymunedol a

chodi ymwybyddiaeth o weithgarwch cynaliadwy i frwydro yn erbyn yr argyfwng

hinsawdd wedi gwneud argraff arbennig ar y panel, gan wneud cyfraniad sylweddol

at wella llesiant unigolion, ac yn wir at lesiant y sir gyfan.

And lastly....

The team here at Grwp Resilience are busy planning the next stage on our 2022 Growing Greener Spaces project, which will focus on building resilience through wellbeing. If you are planning to form a business that improves resilience in Pembrokeshire, please let us help!

You can be a sole trader or community interest company or other form of HMRC registered business. If you are improving the resilience of the county, we are ready to back you. email helen@grwp.wales to register your interest or for more information

The UK Community Renewal Fund is a UK Government programme for