Target reached!
Thank you so much to each and every one of you who has so kindly helped us toREACH O...
Heligan Mill Heritage Farm Restoration
Mevagissey, England, United Kingdom
Aim
Restoring heritage farming at Heligan Mill. Reinstating the old orchard, hop yard, paddocks, and goats. Support our start-up micro farm!
HELLO!
We are the new tenant farmers at Heligan Mill in Cornwall, Sarah and Sam aka The Hairy Horticulturist - supported by our furry friends Sully and Neelix!
MAIN PROJECT AIMS
Our mission is to reinstate heritage farming practices here at The Mill, that restore the surrounding land to its former productive glory, in sympathy with our woodland home.
We are passionate about increasing choice for people looking to source local, seasonal produce. By restoring the land at Heligan Mill we will add a micro farm producer to the local supplier mix, offering cut flowers and veg to anyone living, working or visiting close by. As a micro farm we can also experiment with offering more unusual, but always tasty varieties too!
HERITAGE FARM RESTORATION
The paddocks of Heligan Mill were once home to an orchard - surely full of old Cornish varieties - pasture for grazing goats, a potato patch and even a walled hop yard.
Old records dating back hundreds of years and local oral history have rewarded us with these fascinating insights, and we hope to unearth more information as we go.
Over the years self-seeded willow and hazel have grown up and fallen down throughout the small paddocks, sometimes falling on the remains of old stone walls and drainage ditches.
Our plan is to continue clearing the paddocks, leaving any larger trees on the hedge lines wherever we can. We want to provide replacement nesting sites for the birds that we share this space with and want to ensure as many bird boxes as appropriate for the space are erected, choosing our Sponsor A Bird Box Reward will directly support this!
BENEFITS TO THE COMMUNITY
Our longer term plans include growing flowers, fruit and veg to supply local families and food providers. This first year we are growing in the garden and will supply on a very small scale. Preparing the paddocks will allow us to expand and supply locally grown produce to more families and more local food suppliers in our second year.
We are also positioned in a beautiful spot, accessed by an accessible footpath and cycle trail link. From this unique position we hope to offer passers by the chance to learn about how we are farming our small patch of leased land - led by the past, informed by sustainable and environmentally aware practices.
THE MONEY FROM YOUR SUPPORT
The money we hope to raise from your support will be spent on all things heritage farming. This is how it breaks down.
- Paddocks - fencing, tree stump removal, grass seed
- Goats - goat house, two goats
- Orchard - Cornish variety fruit trees
- Hop yard - growing frame, hop plants
WHO WE ARE
Sam is our resident expert when it comes to, well to be honest, all the things you need to be expert in when creating a farm that works in harmony with the surrounding woodland and wildlife - he works just up the valley at The Lost Gardens of Heligan, super handy! He also shares his love and knowledge of veg, as you may already know, as @the_hairy_horticulturist on Instagram.
Sarah is our resident freelancer. She is a branded film content creator (bit of a mouth full!) and yoga teacher - often found working from home, setting up retreat days and walking Neelix through the woods and to the beach. All of which might help explain another of our reward items - A Rewarding Retreat Day.
If you have read all the way to here - thank you so much, we are sending love and thanks from the heart of Heligan Woods to you right now!
FAQs
Why Heligan Mill?
Three years ago Sarah’s Gran moved out of Heligan Mill, she had lived here for over 60 years. Sarah’s Dad and his brother and sisters were born and grew up here. The family had been intrigued by who might be the next tenant and were delighted and incredibly supportive of Sarah and Sam taking it on.
Why put effort into somewhere you lease and don’t own?
This is an interesting question we have been asked a fair bit, but the answer is actually very simple. We can’t afford to live and work somewhere like this unless we rent it, and this is where we want to live and start up our micro farm right now - somewhere that gives us the opportunity to spend our time doing the things we love, being outside, having space to grow all the produce varieties we are intrigued by, researching history of a building that is hundreds of years old, exploring heritage woodland and farming practices.
Do Sully and Neelix get on?
They do! Not quite at the sleeping in the same bed stage but they are certainly intrigued by each other!
This project successfully funded on 22nd April 2021