We are thrilled that the community school gardens are continuing to flourish. The gardens help provide a haven for wildlife and have become an integral part of school life. Sowing, growing and maintaining crops has been going on throughout the year both in our beds as well as in our polytunnel. In the depths of Winter, we eagerly watched onions and garlic grow with students learning that these clever little plants will find a way to grow, even if planted upside down. Students loved watching the tractor in action and enjoyed learning about larger scale farming.

The swede was harvested in autumn and in early spring we made our delicious cawl together. We prepped the veg, talked about texture and flavour, but the best part was the eating, where students got to reap the rewards of their hard work. We’ve also found time to forage, with students learning about the bounties of the natural world around them. It’s a joy to find a hazelnut flower together or flick a catkin and watch the pollen float away. It’s been wonderful to see how students’ confidence has grown and to see the joy they have in working towards a shared goal. They have become bold and excited when talking about food and prepping for the CAWL project.

This project has not only taught them about growing and harvesting food but it has also introduced them to social enterprise, giving students an understanding of the importance of a circular economy. You will be delighted to know that we have some of these delicious Cawl available at the shop on a Wednesday so please come and say hello and have a taste for yourself.

Alongside our work with schools, we have also been visiting residents at Cartref Dyfi. Sowing seeds with our resident gardener Ken from the care home has been great fun and has proved to be a therapeutic outlet. Ken also tried his hand at making apple juice which was thoroughly enjoyable. Next we will be sowing pumpkins seeds with residents. The sown seeds will be taken to the school polytunnel to grow on for a field scale crop. If you would like to leave a small donation for either our CAWL or Cartref Dyfi projects, we now have an option for donations to be made on our website: