EcoDewi loves our community, loves trees & loves biodiversity so Community Orchards are right up our street! Check out the latest info & updates in the posts below or get in contact if you want to be involved or know more.
Community projects don’t just happen … and we always endeavour to thank and highlight those involved where possible. Although our Maes Glasrfryn project is still very early on, we are already so grateful to a number of organisations, groups and people!
Firstly a massive thank you to the Gray family for being so generous in ensuring that Maes Glasfryn in St Davids City will be protected for community and nature for the long-term 
Secondly, a BIG thank you to all the volunteers who have been down in all conditions, planting trees and hedging, including pupils from Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi
And then a huge thanks to:
Pembrokeshire Coast team for the involvement, advice and planting expertise of some of their nature recovery staff and wardens,
Social Farms & Gardens Wales – Ffermydd a Gerddi Cymdeithasol Cymru for their support with our brand new community orchard as part of the larger #resilientgreenspaces project,
TCV – The Conservation Volunteers for trees as part of their #idigtrees project,
Localgiving & their #magiclittlegrants scheme for support to EcoDewi.
We’ve got a long way to go still in terms of paperwork, permissions, work on site etc but what an amazing start!
We’ve loved planting fruit trees with all four primary and infant schools on the St Davids Peninsula over the last couple of weeks. Together with pupils and teachers, we’ve had great fun planting 2 x apple trees and 2 x pear trees at each of the following schools creating new Mini Orchards:
Ysgol Gymunedol Croesgoch – Croesgoch, Llanrhian
Aidan Campus Ysgol Penhryn Dewi – Solva
Non Campus Ysgol Penrhyn Dewi – St Davids
These new Mini Orchards can be used by teachers to help educate our youngsters about food production, healthy eating, pollinators and nature, as well as sequester carbon, clean the air, create a habitat for wildlife, eventually produce wonderful fruit and of course look beautiful when in blossom!
This is all as part of our work to help local landowners improve how they manage their land for wildlife and the community. We’re especially keen to collaborate to improve public / community owned land and look at initiatives such as creating new Mini Orchards or Mini Meadows. If you are part of or have links with a local community council or the county council, please get in touch to see how we can help. At a time of climate change and biodiversity crisis, we really need to work together and do all we can locally, as the small things add up!
Huge thanks to our local schools, headteachers, teachers and pupils for being so keen to get involved. Thanks again to TCV – The Conservation Volunteers for the trees and to Arfordir Penfro / Pembrokeshire Coast for their Sustainable Development Fund grant which has allowed us to buy tree stakes, ties and compost amongst other things. Diolch yn fawr!
Huge thanks to everyone involved in another successful day of planting more fruit and nut trees in the Community Orchard section of Maes Glasfryn. Once again it was great to have the help of three PCNPA Wardens.
This planting is thanks to our recent success to bring a Productive Community Orchard to Maes Glasfryn in St Davids. We’re just one of the Welsh organisations selected to be supported by this innovative project, part of the Resilient Green Spaces programme.
With support from Social Farms & Gardens, our success will enable us to join a movement of growing, with 1000 new edible fruit and nut trees planted across Wales as part of the project. The movement aims to bring about a step change in community managed fruit production, storage, processing and fruit-based products for Wales. Our involvement will provide access to food that is good for people, good for the environment and good for local business.
Resilient Green Spaces is a £1.27m partnership project piloting alternative and relocalised food systems through testing what local people can achieve together in their green spaces through six strands of work. Resilient Green Spaces has received funding through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.
We’re really excited to announce that we’ve begun planting a brand new Community Orchard at Maes Glasfryn in the heart of St Davids City!
On 20th March, surrounded by coastal fog and in pretty miserable conditions, 5 valiant volunteers planted the first 16 apple trees in the field with sturdy stakes to support them in those important first few years of growth.
These trees are the first batch thanks to an orchard grant from Social Farms & Gardens Wales – Ffermydd a Gerddi Cymdeithasol Cymru through the Resilient Green Spaces fund. More trees coming soon including pear, plum, cherry and some nuts.
EcoDewi is really excited to announce that the St. David’s Community Orchards project has now become part of EcoDewi and will be one of our community and nature benefiting projects going forwards. The project continues to be led by Melanie Maloney who has done some outstanding work with supporters over the last few years, planting fruit trees in the area and encouraging others to get involved. Trees have been planted at both Treginnis Farm for City Children and at Twr y Felin Hotel in the past.
Melanie has been part of EcoDewi since it was formed so we are really optimistic about new projects benefiting St. David’s and the Peninsula. We will be putting our heads together and hopefully working with community councils, organisations and land owners to develop brand new community orchards for 2021! Drop us a note if this interests you and sign up to our newsletter by emailing hello@ecodewi.org.uk or you can contact Melanie direct at maloney.melanie@gmail.com