Newsletter March 2023
Nature is stirring big-time and so is Tregovenek! The potential for change is potent as the year really gets going. Enjoy the read and even better, get in touch and find out how you can support and get involved.
Work parties. Most of the work on the March work party was on bringing back some areas of food production as a temporary phase while we clear, design, fundraise and generally prepare for the community garden and education space. Work also began on repairing guttering and looking at water catchment possibilities. Everyone is welcome to join in, no experience necessary, just come along! Please check our calendar here.
The work parties on April 7th and May 13th and 14th will be very similarly focused with the plan to get some food growing for Tregovenek volunteers and for events through the year. We have compiled a wish list to help with this. We could do with some help to source general gardening tools, veg seedlings, compost, cardboard and well-rotted manure. Please shout if you can help with any of those.
For our full weekend work-party in May, it would be great to have a small team of people to help to hold and design this. If that’s of interest to you then please get in touch.
Permaculture Design Presentation. The Land and Design circle are offering to present the Permaculture design for the field on the evening of Friday May 5thfor those who didn’t get chance o see in back in October. This will be in the main barn and is open to anyone who would like to hear more. There will be plenty of time to ask questions and to input your suggestions. Details to follow.
Tools. Pentiddy Community Woodland recently received a donation to go towards tools which they would like to share with Tregovenek which is brilliantly generous and community-spirited – just the way we like it! They will be purchasing a scythe and some billhooks for hedge-laying and woodland work for both groups to use which is really exciting!
Which brings me neatly to the next item….
Cornish Hedge Course. Tregovenek and Pentiddy plan to host a Cornish Hedge course 25th and 26th November. The course will include a fascinating insight into the history and ecology of Cornish hedges and the chance to have a look at different styles of hedge management at Pentiddy. There will also be the opportunity to have a go at laying a hazel hedge and making biochar from the brash we cut out from the big thorn hedge at Tregovenek in preparation for laying it. As well as locking carbon into the soil, the biochar we make will also help to increase the fertility of the soil in readiness of food growing. The cost for the course will depend on the success of the community chest fund request which is about to go in. We’ll keep you posted. Let us know if you would like to register your interest to attend.
Funding. There’s huge amounts of work going into funding bids at the moment. Our first funding bid has been successful! This will pay for mentoring to help us fine-tune our business plan and launch a community share offer – such good news! There is also work going on for a bid to the Shared Prosperity Fund which will help us to bring in all sorts of consultancy help at this crucial stage. And an application to CTRLShift has just gone in this week for financial help with sociocracy and conflict resolution training for the working circles.
Collaboration with Plymouth University is strengthening. We have put in a partnership bid to the Get Involved fund which we hope will bring scientific researchers, Tregovenek and maybe even Pensilva Primary School together for exciting explorations around carbon, soils and trees.
Message from Anthony: “Many or all of you will have received an e-mail in the last week that actually was only intended to only go to me as a ‘test’. This post is not likely to be formatted well in the e-mail you receive for instance. I’m feeling that the time has finally come to ask for some help with the role of webmaster/communications. It is a complicated arena for the inexperienced! Recognising we all have a part to play and a particular skill set to offer, is there anyone out there willing to support me in streamlining this process? Fingers crossed…!”
We’d love more people to join in the Tregovenek journey so please get in touch if you’re feeling the pull to get involved – there’s something for everyone!
Contact Ele (on behalf of the Community Engagement circle) : ele@tregovenek-org-uk.stackstaging.com or call 07421 813976.