January 7, 2023
The first-ever Wassail held by Camel CSA in north Cornwall is definitely the first of many to come!
We held it to celebrate the first fruit tree planted in our new orchard at Treraven Farm, Wadebridge, and to thank our donors for their generosity.
Wassail King Nick Roberts and accordion player Kevin Everett led Camel CSA volunteers in song, dance and loud noise-making to bless the trees, encourage bountiful harvests and ward off bad spirits.
The 37 trees, mostly apples, include some well-known traditional Cornish varieties like Pig’s Nose, Cornish Aromatic and Tregonna King. Cornwall Councillor Martin Alvey, Cabinet member for environment and climate change, ceremonially planted the very first tree – a Cornish Kea plum.
The trees are funded by Forest for Cornwall while Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network (WREN) has allocated £5,000 for orchard tools and maintenance equipment, donated by Wadebridge-based Clean Earth Energy. Councillor Robin Moorcroft provided a new field gate from his Community Chest.
We’ll be using the orchard to host our annual Wassail and Apple Day events and training workshops to bring people together and share information about the environment, nature and adapting to climate change.
In the past nearly every farm in the Camel Valley maintained a thriving orchard. Most have been lost over the years and we’re proud to be doing our bit to reverse this decline.
It’s a thrill for us to establish a lasting resource that’ll provide apples for the veg boxes and become a fantastic habitat for birds, bees, bats, beetles and butterflies.
*Original song composed by Dee and Dave Brotherton of Tir ha Tavas, accessed from the Cornish National Music Archive
February 23, 2022
Our growers and volunteers have been mending fences and repairing torn polytunnel covers in the wake of Storm Eunice and Storm Franklin. After a nerve-wracking few days we’re fortunate the damage wasn’t much, much worse.
Our hearts go out to growers across the country who’ve suffered extensive damage to crops and infrastructure.
January 28, 2020
If you sign up for a weekly share of our seasonal veg you get the opportunity to join in Camel CSA’s growing activities. Members Charlotte and Jane volunteered to rearrange the weed-suppressant covers and tidy up the netting ripped off in the wind on our relocation site at Treraven Farm, Wadebridge.
September 9, 2019
Our friends at ZLC Energy have relocated Camel CSA’s off-grid solar energy system to our new site at Treraven Farm. Big thanks to Wadebridge Renewable Energy Network – WREN which donated the funds to move the panels and install a solar storage battery.
July 28, 2019
Brilliant work party volunteers sweated through the heat to work on our second polytunnel at Treraven Farm, Wadebridge. Enormous thanks to growers Mark and Jane plus Charlotte, Danny, Finn, Fiona, John and Venetia who dug trenches for the cover, constructed door frames and cut the grass around the site.
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July 23, 2019
BIG team effort to harvest and store the bumper onion crop, enough to fill our 60 veg boxes for 30 weeks. All thanks to the Monday team – growers Mark, Bridget and Ann plus volunteers Charlotte, Darren, Finn, Pia and Spencer.
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July 11, 2019
We had an incredibly successful three days shifting a second polytunnel frame to our relocation site at Treraven Farm. Our brilliant removal crew included growers Mark N and Jane with volunteers Bob, Charlotte, Gary, Helen, John, Mark M and Venetia.
