Celebrating a Community Asset Transfer Success

Background of Cae
Bodfach
Cae Bodfach is a 10-acre site next to the Cain river,
upstream of Llanfyllin town which was donated for community use.
When the community took over management of the pastureland in 2014
it had relatively low biodiversity. A series of town council
meetings were held to design a community growing space based on
permaculture principles and examine previous barriers to utilising
the site.

The community has strong ties through arts and music events, and
the local high school is an Eco-school with many pupils coming from
farming backgrounds. The group wanted to bring these different
cultural and environmental aspects of the community together in a
shared space to celebrate art, food and wildlife.

The development of the site into a community asset focused on the
creation of a community garden, orchard, and communal seating areas
to bring people together and improve the space for wildlife. These
features have been developed whilst maintaining pre-existing site
uses as a popular route for dog walkers and a source of hay stock
for local farmers.

Developing the site with the local community
Over the last four years 100 fruit trees have been planted and
managed; including apples, pears, quince, plums, and cherries.
Support species, like briars, flowering currents, elder,
blackthorn, and hazel, have been planted to add to the diversity.
Summer activities have included scything to protect the trees from
overgrowth and provides good mulch to feed the young forest garden.
Volunteers have also defended the young trees from crafty sheep who
have learned to ford the river in search of tasty saplings.

A wide selection of medicinal, native herbs and dye plants have
also been introduced with the intention of propagating them around
the field and surrounding area. To aid this process, part of the
field has been sown with yellow rattle to weaken grasses and allow
in more diversity. 80 meters of willow coppice has been added which
serves as a wildlife corridor as well as an annual biomass yield
for use on the land. This year volunteers have used some of the
willow to create a sheltered herb garden and a living willow dome.
View images of the
site transformation here.

Cae Bodfach members have worked with volunteers from the
community, pupils from the local school and specialists to develop
the forest garden. Along the way members from Tan Y Fron housing
co-operative (in Meifod), town councillors, permaculture-course
students, local housing association residents, and even volunteers
from the surrounding villages have lent a hand in planting trees or
clearing scrub.

The development of the site has also helped future generations
learn about sustainable management. Land-based studies students
were taught permaculture and community gardening principles, and
even designed their own fruit tree guilds (to support the planted
apple trees) as part of their GCSE project.

Support from local and national organisations has been invaluable
to the development of this project. Many of the trees have come
from local nurseries and £100 worth of bee friendly plants were
donated by the RHS. Some of the plants and tree-care advice has
been supplied by Cwm Harry in Newtown, who have developed a nursery
as part of their Cultivate enterprise
to support community growing across Mid Wales. Financial support
and advice has also been given by other national organisations;
such as Keep Wales Tidy, the Welsh Cider and Perry Association, Kew
Gardens, National Lottery, and ARWAIN.

The project would not have been possible without the support and
guidance of the local community. From the Llanfyllin Town Council
and the Bodfach Trust who have granted permission for the project
and kindly donated the space, to the Llanfyllin Green Hub
initiative and Sector39 who have donated tools and much needed
experience. The One School One Planet project has also involved
local high school and junior school pupils, aiding the longevity of
the community run site.

Plans for the future
The project has created a valuable and replicable model for
community habitat restoration and diversity. Members want to
develop incomes from the site resources; such as preserves from
apples or baskets from willow. They are also talking to a willow
specialist about increasing the biomass yield and value by
selecting suitable varieties.

The group are open to suggestions for other elements to be
included in the garden; for example, vegetable growing facilities
like raised beds. For now they have concentrated on long term
perennial plantings that will have a long life span and will also
contribute to local food growing, wildlife and habitat
provision.

Get Involved:
For more information about the Cae Bodfach project and advice on
starting or expanding a community orchard or garden, visit the
Cultivate and
One
School One Planet websites.

If you would like to volunteer with Cae Bodfach or be part of
their bi-weekly community meetings and podcasts, contact them via
email: steve.jones@sector39.co.uk
or through their facebook
and twitter.