CYMRAEG
Resilient Green Spaces overview
From Sept 2021-June 2023 we led the Resilient Green Spaces project. This £1.27m partnership project enabled us to pilot alternative re-localised food systems in Wales.
Aims
To deliver six collaborative workstreams with our partners piloting local food systems. Communities and their green spaces were the driving force for change, and tested what can be achieved given the right support, access to land and freedom to use their strengths:
- Building a National Allotment Development Team
- Innovative Food Hubs
- Productive Community Orchards
- Greener Corridors and Spaces
- Exploring Community Access to Farms and Land
- Building Horticultural Future Farming Skills
Partners
- Social Farms & Gardens
- Open Food Network UK
- Shared Assets
- Lantra
- Land Workers' Alliance / Land Workers' Alliance Cymru
- Development Trusts Association Wales
- Gwynedd Council
- Cardiff University
Funders
The project was funded through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and the Welsh Government.
Outcomes
The Resilient Green Spaces project has achieved wide-ranging benefits for communities and environments around Wales. It has enhanced food systems, with an emphasis on local production and agro-ecological farming. Communities have developed the confidence and skills to initiate change in future.
Researchers from Cardiff University School of Geography and Planning and University of West of England Bristol worked with our delivery team to develop a Theory of Change for each workstream.
> Read the project evaluation report English / Cymraeg
Contact us
To get in touch about the project please email [email protected]
Explore the six Resilient Green Spaces workstreams
Building a National Development Allotment Team
To meet the growing demand for allotment provision, we convened Wales’ first Allotment Development Team to support landowners and managers. We aimed to help make more land available, develop new sites and to improve access for people.
Innovative Food Hubs
Showing the benefits of short supply chains, we established five community Food Hubs across Wales. Working alongside our partners, the hubs supplied food that was good for people, the environment and local business.
Productive Community Orchards
This project aimed to bring a step change to community managed fruit production in Wales. Building on our past work to establish orchards in Wales, this project helped them to thrive. We focused on helping communities with fruit storage, processing and production.
Greener Corridors and Spaces
Well-connected green spaces have huge value for both people and wildlife. Working with a council in north west Wales, we empowered communities to manage their public green spaces.
Exploring Community Access to Farms and Land
Sustainable farming has huge potential for good. Our partners Landworkers' Alliance Cymru and Shared Assets explored the challenges and opportunities of land access in Wales. The project focused on new entrants and local communities interested in agroecological farming.
Building Horticultural Future Farming Skills
Inspiration, education and training are key to sustaining the future of local food. Our partners have mapped horticultral training needs and developed new training for the next generation of food growers.
Events
Includes our own training events and workshops, and selected events and training run by organisations in the sector we think might be relevant. We aim to share the buzz and keep you informed.