Heartwood is embedded within a 160 acre restoration project in the beautiful Derbyshire Dales. At the heart of the site is a traditional farmhouse and yard where we gather and share stories, experiences and meals. Surrounding the yard is a tangle of mature hedgerows, old fields and veteran trees home to redstarts, grass snakes, cows, sheep and fruit trees. Surrounding that is an encircling wood in which our forest school is seated as well as one of our outdoor teaching spaces.
A network of paths wind through the landscape moving between human and wild spaces as the roles that we play in these ecosystems shift. Over 2023 we established our first 'productive space'; an area of more intensive regenerative food production within the wilder matrix of grass and woodland. This includes;
On contour tree strips of willow for basketry, floristry, mulch and fire wood
On contour strips of soft and top fruit for eating and to propagate future tree strips from
On contour beds for annual cereal grains including many varieties of heritage wheat and barley
2024 will see further development as our chestnut, walnut and apple trees move from the tree nursery out into the field. We will also start to graze the tree strips with our dairy sheep and cattle and expand our heritage grain trials, adding in an ancient oat Pillas.
