How did our Gardens Grow?

Grŵp Resilience is an independent organisation working to build community well-being and resilience, based in Pembrokeshire. Vicky Moller explains how.

Looking ahead there is so much uncertainty, problems reaching crisis level, it is easy to get anxious and angry. It took the short sharp shock of Covid to galvanise a surge in community spirit to help neighbours. This response was especially strong in Pembrokeshire where over 90 groups formed.

I and my niece, inspired by the street assemblies of Extinction Rebellion, organised weekly online meetings for group co-ordinators during Covid. Then, as the first major lockdown faded, we arranged larger online meetings to look at the future we wanted to create. Out of these, Grŵp Resilience was born in August 2020. We were not alone; other groups formed with similar goals. We work in partnership with several of them.

Resilience is in contrast to public services, and complements them. We strengthen communities affected by a challenge to meet it themselves while calling in the help they need. This builds group independence rather than dependency.

Our first goal came from a common theme of those big meetings, the need for land for community groups to care for and grow from. This remains our core activity. For a year we could not find land in the urban areas where the need is greatest. Our partners developed community gardens in more rural areas including St. Davids, helped by the church.

At the end of 2021 our hard work supporting existing gardens and allotments was rewarded, and land began to be offered. In the next two years we initiated four new sites and now we are running to keep up with offers.

Where people suffer from any of today’s prevalent ills - psychological, spiritual, physical, social, financial - community growing works wonders in a quiet way. Empowering the team to run the site themselves does more. It is amazing to see enthusiasm and abilities grow as people find a fair rent, resolve differences, involve groups with needs, become company directors, share learning, tools and resources. The garden is a micro-polity, a place to rediscover that we can create wise kind governance together.

Grŵp is there for any serious challenge. We have grappled with zero carbon, peak housing, migration, farming and wildlife. Our partner organisations tackle some of these and others like river and sea pollution.