We are fundraising again!
Please support us.
Three years ago, we reclaimed four acres of farmland on the outskirts of the New Forest with a dream of transformation. We wanted to regenerate the soil using 'no dig' methods of farming to grow a vibrant array of deeply nutritious, organic vegetables for our local community. We are passionate about nature and protecting threatened species so we envisioned an environment where birds, bugs, bees and bats could thrive and continue their essential work to support our eco-system. And we were committed to creating a space where local people could come to re-connect with nature, to learn more about where food comes from so they could nourish their minds and bodies. We wanted to heal the land enabling it to provide healing for local wildlife and people.
We are really proud to say that we have achieved everything we set out to do including:
Planted over four thousand mixed native trees for a new hedgerow
Created a two-acre wildflower meadow with a hazel coppice and wildlife pond
Planted a one-acre mixed fruit orchard
Established one acre of No Dig, synthetic-and-chemical-free market garden
Built an outdoor kitchen and workshop space
Delivered dozens of workshops for local children and families
Hosted hundreds of empowering events enabling women to connect in community
Welcomed a regular bereavement group to help people overcome grief
Having proved that we can make this work and established a beautiful space for local wildlife and the community, we are now ready to grow... and that's where you come in!
We don't currently have any power on site which restricts what we can offer, especially during the winter months. We would love to install a green energy system bringing power to Four Acre Farm through wind and the sun. We also want to extend our much-loved outdoor kitchen space to provide year-round usage. And we'd love more poly-tunnels and farm equipment helping us grow more of the vegetables that nourish our local families.
If you are passionate about supporting nature and have been looking for a way to give back, please contribute to our new crowdfunding efforts and become a part of our story.
Four Acre Farm
Our planet needs us to act fast to regenerate farmland. The food system is broken. This visionary ‘No Dig’ farm is part of a small scale producer movement that benefits the local community whilst simultaneously caring for the environment. We need your help to be part of the solution!
Four Acre Farm has provided super local, healthy veg to the Ringwood community whilst healing the land for just over a year; thanks to our generous supporters and amazing volunteers. We have been growing a wide range of exciting, nutritious and delicious vegetables, and hope to add wonderful cut flowers and more veg over the upcoming year!
-Four Acre Farm Market Garden
From our previous Crowdfunders, we were able to install a crucial polytunnel, purchase seeds for our market garden and wildflower meadow, manure and educational supplies, and create a beautiful wildlife pond. Our focus is bringing back biodiversity to farmland and sequestering carbon. We are providing a new space for local people to connect with the natural world and learn new skills.
-Mollie And Bodhi building the doors for our Polytunnel - kindly funded by you!
- Beautiful wildflowers in our mixed-fruit orchard
We have a method of growing food that works for both soil health and people’s wellbeing. We don’t dig! Inspired by Charles Dowding’s work we have learnt that soil health is vital for our ecosystem and for growing nutritionally dense food. Conventional farming uses big machinery and ploughs, which destroys soil structure, breaks up the intricate soil food web and releases carbon into the atmosphere. It’s clear we cannot continue to do this.
Generously donated by the Tree Council and others, we have planted over 4500 trees; forming a new native mix hedgerow and beautiful mixed-fruit orchard. Our farm aims to be an inspiration to others. We want children and adults alike to discover new skills and the possibility of land-based careers.
- Our plan for the farm, and how it is laid out (with some minor changes!)
Who are we?
We are Mollie and Kate, friends who feel passionately about nature and wellbeing. We have a shared dream to grow and educate. There are many possibilities available in land based careers, yet we as young adults were never told about them, so we want to change this! We believe that positive outdoor experiences are needed to foster an interest in our local ecosystem. Our aim is to inspire, educate and reconnect people with the natural world and show how we can produce food whilst regenerating land.
Kate
-Kate gardening
I worked as a private chef all over the world before moving to Dorset to work and learn with Charles Dowding at his Market Garden. Inspired by Charles’ No Dig approach and driven by a desire to repair the earth and readdress the way we grow fruit and vegetables, I am taking my years of No Dig experience and creating a CSA in Ringwood. Not only to provide fantastic fresh veg, fruit and herbs, but also to create a caring community around growing, cooking and learning. Having worked in primary schools for 5 years I have the skills and understanding to deliver workshops in a fun and creative way.
Mollie
-Mollie with a Pine Hawkmoth
I have a BSc in Animal Behaviour and an MSc in Biodiversity Conservation which has led me through a varied time in the conservation sector from ranger to engagement project coordinator. For the past 4 years I have worked at a local nature reserve which has taught me skills in habitat management, as well as immersing me in all that nature has to offer (with some ID skills along the way!)
I am passionate about using our connection to nature as a healing resource, starting a nature-focused bereavement group after losing my own loved ones; nature helped me on my grief journey. Since sparking my interest in the benefits nature can bring, I have discovered that there are many unseen benefits of being connected with nature, and as a free, easily accessible resource, I want to assist others with their journey to connecting with nature.
Our Volunteers
We have hosted a wide range of volunteers across the past year, helping us to plant trees, sow seeds, make beds, plant out, water, weed, and survey wildlife!
- Volunteers watering and weeding the market garden
-Lisa planting one of the 4.5k trees
We wouldn't be where we are without these amazing people!
What inspired us?
One fateful day we were out walking and realised we both had the same dream; to restore and protect a piece of land and use it to benefit the community and the ecosystem. There is a direct link between soil health, our food and our health.
Our first priority is to aid the healing of the soil at Four Acre. Ploughing, chemical fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides have left these four acres in a poor state. Rather than turn the whole area into a market garden for vegetable and flower production, we believe it is important to create more diverse habitats and protect and lengthen wildlife corridors.
We have set up as a Community Interest Company, which means profit goes back into the company for teaching, maintenance and resources.
We take a set wage for our time which is funded by the selling of vegetables and flowers via the market garden. We wish to employ more people as the project develops, giving others the opportunity to learn a vast array of skills and to hopefully consider a future similar path. We have been leading apprenticeships for young adults and student placements.
-Two of our lovely volunteers with their braided garlic
What your support can help us achieve?
We need your help to fund key parts of our farm. Thanks to your previous generous donations, we were able to purchase our Polytunnel, seeds and hoops for the market garden and wildflower meadow, manure, educational supplies, and create a beautiful wildlife pond.
-Happy faces putting the cover over the polytunnel
For this Crowdfunder, we are looking to raise £25k to install a green energy supply here at the farm which will enable us to continue hosting our community support events and educational visits to a high standard, and extend these offerings!
This funding will also go towards irrigation; our site needs irrigation pipes to automate and regulate watering time, freeing up our time and making it the most efficient.
-Salad mix from Four Acre Farm
-Beautiful flowers from Four Acre Farm
Any additional funding will go towards providing support to our educational ventures and charitable visits.
Our methods
Why no-dig?
Repairing soil is key to growing healthy plants. A fully functioning soil food web of microbes and fungal networks makes for sweeter tasting and more nutritious food, and it’s great for trapping carbon! The No Dig method never disturbs the soil by always mulching on top, never digging it in or digging up roots. We aim to aid soil structure by allowing the ecosystem below to do its work without being destroyed by rotavating or digging. By growing perennials with annuals and mixing varieties we are creating a diverse environment which is great for soil life and encourages our friends the pollinators to visit. The vast array of root exudates that come from having different plants helps create this diverse environment.
Soil wishes to be covered at all times; if a patch is left bare then ‘weed’ seeds will germinate and begin photosynthesising. The sugars produced by photosynthesis feed those soil microbes below and the process of trapping carbon begins. No dig keeps soil covered at all times with a layer of compost mulch on the beds and woodchip on the paths. By keeping a succession of plants in the ground year round and using cover crops where needed we are helping to give back to that soil.
-Kate showing off some Melons grown at Four Acre last year!
Unfortunately, current mass production food systems are detrimental to the environment. At Four Acre Farm we are not organically certified, but we never use synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides or herbicides. Healthy soil produces plants that are resistant to disease and unwanted insects. We want to create habitat for pollinators throughout our market garden because we know just how important they are for our ecosystem to thrive.
We are creating as much homemade compost as space allows, taking local raw veg and fruit food waste and utilising green waste produced on site. This along with coffee grounds from local cafes, woodchip from local tree surgeons and manure from nearby stables will create our highly valued compost mulch. Water is another valuable resource so we will harvest as much rainwater as possible to use on our beds. The fungal network that is allowed to repair and thrive in No Dig beds sequesters nutrients, and deposits serious amounts of carbon. It also accesses moisture for the plants from very deep down and is an essential part of plant drought resistance.
Nature connection
Connecting people with nature will be one of our greatest aims. Higher nature connection results in more environmentally positive behaviours. Greater nature connection is also linked to many physical and mental health benefits such as lower blood pressure, reduced stress and more positive thoughts. We aim to connect people with nature through many engagement activities, learning and gaining work experience and skills, as well as sharing via social media to extend this reach of benefits.
A core aim for this engagement and increased nature connection is to make nature accessible for all, in particular, those who will benefit from the healing benefits of nature. To do this, we will invite the local community, local education establishments, high risk groups and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds to join us at the farm to learn all about nature and wildlife, growing healthy, low cost food, and cooking retreats.
-Little ones learning about moths
-People of all ages learning about growing and cooking
Check out more about nature and grief through Mollie's Podcast The Nature of Loss.
Follow our story
To keep up with our journey, you can follow us on Instagram @four_acre_farm_csa or check out our website: Four Acre Farm (four-acre.farm)
We want to send out an extra special thank you to our wonderful supporters who have helped make this place so special and got us to the place we are now: Nick, Heather, Colin, Kay, Trevor, Charles, Eddie and The Tree Council who have given their time, resources and knowledge to us in this crucial first year. And of course, thank you to all who donated and shared our last Crowdfunder - you all helped to make this happen.