Sustainability is something which needs to be fully integrated into everything we do every day to ensure our actions are environmentally, socially and financially sustainable.
These fundamental principles have formed the bedrock for many a campaign and movement over the years including ‘think global, act local’, ‘reduce, re-use, recycle, transition towns, permaculture design, regenerative agriculture, agroecology, mindfulness and Kate Raworth’s model of ‘Doughnut Economics’.
None of us can improve sustainability in isolation because everything is connected, so it is essential that we all work together towards our common goals. Here at Bosavern, we do this by forming trusted, mutually benefitical partnerships with individuals and organisations in our local area and beyond.
We have several partnerships in the Bosavern ecosystem, each reflecting our priorities; sustainable food, conservation, health & well-being, education & skills.
Conservation Partners
Bosavern sits within the Area of Outstanding Beauty which forms part of the National Landscape. This is a special designation recognising the beauty, wildlife and heritage value of the area. We work closely with officers at Cornwall Council and with other strategic land management partners including Cornwall Wildlife Trust and the National Trust looking for ways to dovetail our activities and to support one another’s aims.
- We are grateful to the Farming In The Protected Landscape team for recent funding to improve our chicken facilities and to better engage volunteers and school groups in land based activities and educational workshops.
- We propagate, and supply specific wildflower plugs to the National Trust to enhance biodiversity on their land, providing a specific food source for particular rare species of bee and butterfly to help address species decline
- We oversee the management of allotments at the Kenidjack allotment site on National Trust land
- The National Trust have run bee conservation workshops at Cape Cornwall for our volunteers
- Cornwall Wildlife Trust have stalls at our Open Days and they advise our Head Grower on soil quality and land management
- We advise Cornwall Wildlife Trust on community engagement techniques
- Forest for Cornwall have funded many of our trees and provide advice on which trees where to be in-keeping with the Landscape Character. We also receive saplings from other charities and private doners.
- We supply wildflowers to the Tremenheere Sculpture Gardens
- We meet with other community growing schemes to find ways to support one another in a group chaired by the Local Nature Partnership
- Our Director Holly Whitelaw is a member of the Cornwall Climate Action Coalition
- The National Trust and Cornwall Wildlife Trust have stalls at our Open Days.
Find out more about our conservation work with Trees, Wildflowers and Bees and read more about our land management and ethos here.
Sustainable Food Partners
In 2021, an event called The Civic Lantern identified ‘Land and Support for Community Growing schemes’ was the top priority action which everyone in Cornwall could get behind, be they individuals, charities, businesses, faith leaders, local authorities or funders. We would like to see a market garden on the outskirts of every major settlement in Cornwall and community growing schemes in each locality. These can take many forms and sizes. Ultimately we need more food grown, distributed and purchased sustainably within Cornwall. We network with other agroecological and regenerative growers across Cornwall, with academics from the University of Exeter Environmental Sustainability Institute and members of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Local Nature Partnership to support one another in this vision. A map of other growing schemes and links to their websites can be found through Sustainable Food Cornwall.
We produce our own food for sale through our veg box scheme, shops and markets. We also stock food from other local and organic producers in our shop and markets. More information on our suppliers can be found here.
Health & Wellbeing Community Hub
Bosavern is the Community Hub for the St Just area in recognition of the health and wellbeing benefits of working outdoors with nature in an established, inclusive, community-led organisation. The Community Hubs are co-ordinated and supported by a few key support organisations; Volunteer Cornwall, Cornwall Voluntary Sector Forum, the People Hub and Inclusion Cornwall.
We work with other Community Hubs and other groups locally such as the Centre of Pendeen to share publicity about forthcoming events and funding news.
We work with the local health and employability professionals such as Social Prescribers, Mental Health practitioners and GPs at the Atlantic Medical Group Rosemellin, Sunnyside and Morrab; housing agencies such as Cornwall Council and LiveWest and with employment coaches at the Job Centre and agencies like Active Plus and Konnect Communities and The People Hub, to encourage more people to volunteer at the farm and to provide veg boxes on prescription.
We also liaise with a wide variety of support organisations via the Community Gateway so that we can refer people for any particular support which the farm itself cannot provide. The Community Gateway is a useful helpline available for everyone and provides access to a wide range of professional voluntary sector support and services.
We also network with organisations who run nature-based workshops for wellbeing such as Arts Well and Nature Connects. We have been a delivery venue for external course providers such as the Workers’ Educational Association (WEA).
New referral and partner organisations are welcome to come for an initial tour of the farm, we recommend arriving at 10am on a Tuesday or Thursday to self-tour the farm and then to join the crew for teabreak at 11am. Partner organisations can rent spaces for meetings, workshops, book a stall at our open days, fund a veg box and/or refer clients for volunteering opportunities.
As more and more people realise the simple and yet impactful role which growing schemes can play in improving people’s health and wellbeing, we receive more enquiries about volunteering and referrals. In June 2024 we held an open afternoon for a number of partner organisations including; The People Hub, Lizard Pathways, Truro & Penwith College, Konnect Communities, Volunteer Cornwall, Marazion Surgery, Bolitho, Eden Project, Pentreath, Pengarth, and Atlantic Medical Group.
Enquire about volunteering with us.
Skills and Employment Partnerships
During the lockdown we had European ESF and ERDF funding to support unemployed adults to gain new skills and confidence to help people move into employment and training. Local businesses were extremely supportive in taking on some of our trainees and offering them first time employment. This project won a national award with the Plunkett Foundation, view our evaluation results here. We worked closed with mental health practitioners, employment services and a wide range of other support services during this time. We no longer offer such intensive coaching, but the Community Gateway is a great first port of call if you are seeking suitable support for yourself or for someone else.
We have recently hosted volunteering visits with an individual and their support worker from Work Your Way, a small, bespoke provision that is suitable for young people who require additional support to find, access and maintain work placements. If you are interested in arranging a work placement or a volunteering taster visit for yourself or somebody else, please contact us here.
Events and Workshops
We work with freelancers and partner organisations to develop a thriving programme of seasonal food-based and land-based workshops and wellbeing events at Bosavern Community Farm throughout the year. This has included partnering with the WEA to offer permaculture workshops; with St Just Town Council and freelance ecologist Nick Taylor to offer Dark Skies moth-watching events; with Yvonne Thompson from Change Innovators to offer Creating Positive Energy workshops, with Tom Waters from Scythe Kernow to offer scything, with Cornwall Heritage Trust and with CREST to offer a venue for hedging practice. For details of forthcoming events, check our news and events page.
From time to time we run foraging workshops in collaboration with local freelance tutors including Caroline Davey at Fat Hen Foraging, Josh Quick at Wild St. Ives and Rachel Lambert at Wildwalks Southwest.
Educational Partnerships
We have strong connections with our local schools and colleges and we are CEVAS accredited via LEAF. Thanks to some DEFRA funding via FIPL (Farming in the Protected Landscape), in 2024/25 we can host free visits and work experience placements from local schools, colleges and groups of adults with learning disabilities. Occasionally we host private schools from further afield for a fee. We have also been known to take groups of volunteers to visit colleges to explore follow-on qualifications.
Schools we have hosted so far
- Cape Cornwall Secondary
- St Just Primary
- Sennen Primary
- Newlyn Primary after school food tech club
- WAVE Penwith Academy
- Latymer Grammar School
Kites at Cape Cornwall School
Newlyn School
Penwith Academy
Enquire about a visit or a placement with us.
Workplace volunteering
From time to time we host workplace volunteering sessions and team away-days for staff from local employers such as the Penzance Job Centre and Seasalt Cornwall.
DWP Visit 08/05/24
Seasalt Visit 20/06/24
Seasalt Visit 20/06/24
Safeguarding
Our staff are safeguarding trained and DBS checked and we work closely with officers at Cornwall Council taking advice as needed. Our safeguarding officers at Bosavern Community Farm are staff members Hugh Taylor and Ross Packer, and our Safeguarding Lead is Katie Kirk. If you are concerned for an adult who is at risk of abuse anywhere in your community, please contact the Access Team on 0300 123 4131. If you are concerned for the safety of a child, please contact MARU on 0300 123 1116. If you see something, say something.