Lizzy Scott, Rachub
Volunteering at Gerddi Ffrancon, Bethesda
“I really enjoy improving biodiversity and making the gardens a good place for wildlife. It’s satisfying working with other people and seeing how much the gardens have improved.” – Lizzy Scott
Get to know Lizzy:
Lizzy Scott lives in Rachub and works as a carer at a local care home. With a love of gardening, wildlife and the outdoors, volunteering at Gerddi Ffrancon brings together many of her interests.
“I like producing food and gardening in a way that is good for wildlife. I like seeing wildlife in my garden.”
Having volunteered previously while living in Northampton, Lizzy was keen to become involved in the community after moving to Rachub. She enjoys walking in the countryside, including on the hill behind her home and along the coast, as well as spending time growing her own food.
Lizzy is particularly passionate about gardening in a way that benefits wildlife and encourages biodiversity. She has her own allotment, where she grows a variety of fruit and vegetables, including jostaberries – a cross between a blackcurrant and gooseberry.
Living in Rachub has also given Lizzy plenty of opportunities to become involved locally.
“I like living in Rachub. There’s a lot going on and lots of opportunities to get involved.”
As well as currently helping at Gerddi Ffrancon, Lizzy has volunteered with local food producers and at a local orchard whilst living in Northampton, helping to improve biodiversity while producing apples for the local community.
Lizzy’s Experience as a Volunteer:
At Gerddi Ffrancon, Lizzy is part of a small group of volunteers who work together to grow and look after a wide variety of produce. The group organises much of its work together, discussing plans in person and through WhatsApp before deciding what to plant and which jobs need doing. Volunteers then arrange times to meet at the gardens whenever they are available.
For Lizzy, a typical volunteering session could involve weeding, harvesting produce, removing plants that need replacing or sowing the next crop.
Over the past few years, the group has experimented with growing a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. One particularly successful crop has been field beans.
“We planted field beans over the last couple of years and they were really successful. They didn’t need much looking after and we got a big harvest from them.”
Garlic has also become an important crop at Gerddi Ffrancon. In June, the volunteers held a special garlic day, cooking with their harvest and inviting local food producers to come along and talk to the community about garlic and locally grown food.
Lizzie mentioned that this year’s courgettes struggled in the hot weather, but other parts of the garden have continued to thrive. The community beds include a herb garden alongside crops such as onions, broccoli and kale.
There are also blackcurrants, whitecurrants and a variety of other berry bushes, which produced an abundant harvest this year.
Gerddi Ffrancon includes individual allotment plots as well as a community growing area, which is managed collectively by the volunteers. Although the current volunteer group is small, this has created a close-knit and friendly atmosphere.
“There’s a small group of us, which is nice because we all know each other. But it would be lovely to have more people involved, because the point of the garden is to get the community involved in growing and sourcing food locally and organically, and to build a stronger community.”
Lizzy’s favourite parts of Gerddi Ffrancon:
For Lizzy, one of the most rewarding aspects of volunteering is seeing Gerddi Ffrancon become an increasingly valuable habitat for wildlife.
The gardens were established around six years ago on land that had previously largely been grass. Since becoming involved, Lizzy has watched the site gradually develop and mature.
“It’s changed so much and you can see it’s all coming together now. When I started, it was still very much getting going.”
The volunteers have also started some sessions with a local ecologist to identify the wildlife that can now be found at Gerddi Ffrancon. With more sessions planned, Lizzy is looking forward to learning more about the species making their home there and seeing the impact that the volunteers’ work has had on biodiversity.
“It’s nice to see how we’ve improved things while we’ve been there, especially because previously it was just grass.”
But volunteering isn’t all about digging, weeding and growing. Some of Lizzy’s favourite moments are the quieter, more sociable ones shared with the other volunteers.
“I most enjoy having a cup of tea with the other volunteers, discussing gardening and our similar interests. We usually work for an hour and then have a tea break and a chat. It’s very enjoyable on a nice sunny day.”
The social side of Gerddi Ffrancon is an important part of Lizzy’s experience. Working alongside people with similar interests provides an opportunity to share gardening knowledge and ideas while getting to know other members of the local community.
An outstanding memory:
One experience that particularly stands out for Lizzy was a group trip to Dinas Dinlle last year to collect seaweed for Gerddi Ffrancon.
As someone who loves walking along the coast, the trip combined several of Lizzy’s interests – gardening, nature and spending time by the sea. After collecting the seaweed, the group also stopped at a café together, turning the practical gardening job into an enjoyable day out.
The dried seaweed collected from the beach could then be put to good use back at Gerddi Ffrancon. Once the salt had been washed away, it could be used as a natural mulch*.
“You put it around the plants to protect the soil and stop water loss, and then it gradually feeds the plants too.”
*Mulching – covering the surface of the soil with materials such as seaweed, woodchip or compost – can help the gardens retain moisture while gradually adding nutrients back into the soil.
It is a trip the volunteers have talked about repeating in the future.
“It was a really nice day out, especially because I enjoy walking along the beach!”
Lizzy’s wishes for the future of Ffrancon Gardens:
Looking ahead, Lizzy would particularly like to see more people from the local area becoming involved in Gerddi Ffrancon.
While the small group of existing volunteers enjoys working together, having more people involved would help to share the work, introduce new ideas and make the gardens an even stronger community resource.
Lizzy also hopes Gerddi Ffrancon can continue developing relationships with local food producers and raise awareness of the good-quality food and resources that are already available locally.
One idea for next year is to hold a Harvest Festival in September, bringing local producers and members of the community together. Producers could give talks, share their knowledge and encourage more people to think about where their food comes from.
Ultimately, Lizzy hopes Gerddi Ffrancon can play its part in creating a stronger and more connected local community.
“I’d like to see more people joining in, growing local food and becoming involved. Hopefully we can build an even stronger community around it.”
Chance to support:
Gerddi Ffrancon is about much more than growing fruit and vegetables. It provides space for wildlife, gives people the opportunity to learn and share skills, and helps the community think differently about where food comes from and how it is produced.
For volunteers like Lizzy, it is also somewhere to meet people, exchange ideas and enjoy the simple pleasure of working outdoors together.
From planting field beans and harvesting berries to wildlife sessions, garlic days and trips to the beach to collect seaweed, there are plenty of different ways to get involved.
Above all, Lizzy would love to see more people from the local community discovering Gerddi Ffrancon for themselves – whether they are experienced gardeners or have never grown anything before.
“It would be lovely to have more people involved. The whole point is to get the community growing and sourcing food locally and organically, and building a stronger community.”
If Lizzy’s story has inspired you to get involved yourself, Gerddi Ffrancon would love to hear from you.