Resilient Green Spaces Project: Re-localising food distribution by empowering communities

Supported by researchers from Cardiff University’s Sustainable Places Research Institute, this Social Farms & Gardens project will empower communities across Wales to test what local people can achieve together given the right support, access to land and freedom to do what they do best.

The Resilient Green Spaces project is set to utilize communities and their green spaces to pilot alternative and re-localised food systems – leading the way for change for the benefit of growers, consumers, and the climate. The project has launched six key schemes to achieve this objective:

1. Building a National Allotment Development Team – Wales’s first Allotment Development Team will be convened to help meet the growing demand for adequate allotment provision and to improve access for those who are often marginalised from growing their own healthy food.
2. Innovative Food Hubs – Five sustainable food hubs will be established in communities across Wales to provide food that is good for people, good for the environment and good for local business by promoting short supply chains.
3. Productive Community Orchards – Ten new community orchards will trial enterprising production, storage, and processing ideas to provide economic benefits from new Welsh products.
4. Greener Corridors and Spaces – Communities will be empowered to take control of their public green spaces so they are better connected for nature and people across Gwynedd.
5. Exploring Community Access to Farms and Land – Research will be conducted into how land can be accessed by local communities to develop farming enterprises that benefit people and environment.
6. Building Horticultural Future Farming Skills – A pilot training package will be developed to give future growers the skills needed to run horticultural farming businesses.

For more on Resilient Green Spaces, the partner organizations involved, and to stay updated on the progress of the project, check out their website here