Crowds gather to celebrate intergenerational nature restoration at Penpont
Launched over the summer solstice in June 2024, We Feed The UK’s fourth story celebrates land regeneration in Wales.
We welcomed over 500 people to the trailblazing Penpont Estate, where young people are working with wisdom-holders on an intergenerational response to climate breakdown, food insecurity and biodiversity loss across the Welsh uplands.
Award-winning photographer, Andy Pilsbury, showcased an incredible exhibition of photographs taken at Penpont over many months.
“Andy has become part of the family here, going above and beyond in his efforts to explore the life of our project and those who have made it possible, from the Davies Family of Tirmawr Farm to the barn owl that roosts in a hollow Ash tree in Penpont’s ancient wood pasture. Food production, nature restoration and the power of intergenerational working – Penpont’s recipe for success – are constant themes in his photographs, which are suffused with an inner light that conveys a hope measured in actions, not in words.”
Penpont Estate
Andy’s striking images of life on the land complemented the lyrical Welsh poetry of Ifor-ap-Glyn, former National Poet for Wales, and paintings by President of the Royal Watercolour Society and Penpont resident, Robert MacDonald.
The weekend also saw the launch of Andy’s book, Aelwyd. It marries photos from his exhibition with maps of the land and beautiful poetry from its custodians. Get your limited edition copy here.
The magic of restoring nature at Penpont
The Penpont Project is the largest intergenerational effort to restore nature in the UK. It is led by a co-management council, comprising a Youth Leadership Group of 13-18-year-olds, farmers, landowners, the charity Action for Conservation, and local people from artists to ecologists. The more-than-human beings of Penpont – whether otter or oak – are part of this partnership, too.
Through a multi-generational, multi-species exchange of knowledge, The Penpont Project’s participants have pieced together a picture of the natural and cultural diversity once sustained by these lands and waters.
By creating physical ‘eco-cultural maps’, the custodians have made an ambitious, shared plan. They hope to restore nature while celebrating Welsh farming traditions and opening the space to more young people. The plans include the restoration of 1.5km of hedgerows, instituting conservation grazing across 80 acres, restoring lost wetlands and establishing new habitats for otters, barn owls, newts, and grass snakes.
These maps are displayed in the UK’s first Land Library, which opened at Penpont alongside the exhibition. Featuring a world-class collection of nature writing, reading trails, guides and a workspace, the Land Library is a place where people of all ages can immerse themselves in compelling writing and the living world that inspires it.
Intergenerational collaboration from grass to galleries
A poignant intergenerational collaboration, displayed as part of this exhibition, perfectly encapsulates The Penpont Project. Local mythology has inspired artist Robert MacDonald’s work for over four decades. By etching directly onto Andy’s photographic negatives, a unique artistic pairing emerged that sings with the spirit of these lands.
The above piece, capturing Penpont’s ‘phoenix oak’, named Adfyw (Renewal) by the Youth Leadership Group, features Robert’s etchings. Shooting on a bellows camera, Andy processed the film on site and invited Robert to engrave into the plates, revealing the unseen beings and life cycles that animate the estate.
“These interdisciplinary pieces remind us that we are never alone in our efforts to restore nature and our relationship with the living world. We have innumerable quiet allies in the fungi who break down dead wood, the earthworms who aerate the soil, the birds carrying seeds in their bellies and the trees with whom we share breath.”
The Penpont Project
The launch event raised funds for Action for Conversation. AFC is a grassroots charity using innovative approaches to empower 12 to 18-year-olds to become the next generation’s environmental leaders. The charity has supported over 5,000 young people to get involved in restoring nature and creating lasting, meaningful change.
Resurgence & Ecologist featured the exhibition, celebrating the power of stories like this when it comes to restoring nature.
Our fifth We Feed The UK Story, spotlighting the UK’s first community-owned farm, will launch in September 2024.
