Launch of new initiative to aid Welsh community growing
Tyfu Fyny (Growing Up), a new initiative to boost community growing and local food projects in Wales, will be launched at a unique gathering for community gardeners and farmers at Ffarm Moelyci near Bangor.
There’s been a huge boom in community growing in Wales over the last few years, led by interest in issues such as future food security, climate change and health and well-being. There are now more than 400 community growing groups in Wales, according to the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens, which has set up the Tyfu Fyny initiative with funding from the Welsh Government’s Rural Communities – Rural Development Plan 2014-2020.
Research* has shown how local community growing projects can help bring communities closer together, boost health and well being, educate children about where their food comes from and increase skills.
Tyfu Fyny also fits with a number of Welsh Government agendas** on the environment, health, education and training, economic development and community development. It will also deliver on overarching sustainable development commitments including climate change.
Among the stand-out features of Tyfu Fyny will be an emphasis on getting Welsh business involved – research suggests businesses that work with community projects not only benefit from better staff morale and improved team work, but also has significant impact on a business’s reputation and ability to attract investment.
There will also be intensive support and mentoring for Community Supported Agriculture, where local communities buy shares in working farms, and care farming – where farms are used as therapy spaces.
Tyfu Fyny will be officially launched at the All Wales Gathering for community growers and farmers at Ffarm Moelyci, near Bangor, one of the UK’s first community owned farms. The Gathering, which runs until Saturday, is a chance for all community growing projects in Wales to come together to share, learn and celebrate. There will be informative and practical workshops, opportunities to meet and hear from projects around Wales.
FCFCG Wales Manager Emma Williams said: “The Tyfu Fyny project supports all types of community growing projects in Wales. From community gardens to community supported agriculture projects (CSAs), care farms to orchards, community farms to street planting projects, if you’re bring people together to farm, garden or grow we can help.
We’re really pleased to be able to officially launch Tyfu Fyny at the gathering. Previous events have brought volunteers and staff from community growing sites across Wales together to strengthen the movement, learn new skills and feed in to policy, and this year’s will carry on that tradition.”
* https://www.farmgarden.org.uk/
** http://www.wcva.org.uk/what-
and http://gov.wales/topics/
