What A Year!
End Of Year Report 2024
It's been another fantastic year at Lovebrook. Our hearts are feeling full as we reflect back over the past months and see the impact we have made - both to the community we serve, and the land we steward. There are such a variety of projects going on here now, it's hard to list everything, but here is a snapshot.
Over 1000 trees planted on the land, as we restore biodiversity to what was an overgrazed and barren site.
A full year on our beautiful market garden, growing delicious chemical free veg for customers across Lewes & Brighton.
1,920 scrumptious lunches served up, as part of our community volunteer sessions on Mondays & Tuesdays
A year long, free to access, market garden traineeship delivered, developing the skills of the farmers of the future
4 wellbeing in nature courses, free of charge, for people less able to access nature and wellbeing
2 gardening & cooking courses, free of charge, for those experiencing barriers to training
Community saunas and yoga retreat days throughout the year
A fantastic camping season
Kombucha making, gong baths, wreath making and workshops galore...
Our first festival!
There has been so much more, but that gives you an idea of life here on the land at Lovebrook. None of it would be possible without the input of so many amazing staff, friends, volunteers, funders, customers and supporters. Together we are growing a flourishing, community project that stands in service of people and planet. Thankyou to everyone that is a part of what we do, and we look forward to seeing you next year.
Our Team
Kate & Lee continued to run the market garden, including our very popular Tuesday volunteer group, until the end of October 2024. Then we said farewell to Lee after 3 years of his very valued input to Lovebrook. Kate decided that she would take a less demanding role for 2025, reducing to 1 day a week. This created space for a new role, and Caroline has now joined the team. After a handover period with Kate, Caroline takes over officially as head grower from Jan 2025.
Kamil has been leading Mondays with a volunteer group that has grown substantially over the year. They have been working on the wider farm environment, making a great impact on tree planting, land management, and reclaiming and developing whole new areas of the farm. Kamil will continue leading this group in 2025.
Warren joined us in August as our resident Workaway team member. He has made a significant impact to the smooth running and development of the farm, both with the valued skills and input he brings, and with the consistency of his regular hours and scheduled tasks. Warren currently plans to stay with us until March 2025.
Ben & Christelle have made a positive impact on the delivery of many areas of our work. Their input on the veg bag operation, the market garden, Lewes Farmers market and the sauna hosting has made them both invaluable members of our team, and we look forward to them coming back from their adventures and rejoining the work from spring 2025.
Yazmin joined the team in May 2024, taking a one day a week position that has been kindly supported by The Enjoolata Foundation. Her role takes place mainly behind the scenes, working on administration, communication, development and marketing. This has been a massive help to Rich and Hannah in particular, allowing them to step away from some of the day to day work and focus on the wider plans of where Lovebrook is heading next.
Market Garden
2024 was the third year of veg, fruit and flower growing on the market garden, and probably our most successful year to date, despite some very difficult weather conditions at the beginning of the year. It was incredibly wet, which meant we lost a lot of our overwintered crops, and led to a lot of early crops failing and needing to be replanted a second and sometimes a third time. So it was a late start, but once the harvest started to come through the quality was really amazing, and the planning for varieties and amounts was very precise.
Our veg bag customers got a really excellent offering every week, with lots of variety and very generous portions. We had the most customers to date, with numbers of weekly bags reaching 32 in late summer. Lewes Farmers market had its best year yet. We had a lovely looking stand and really benefited from Ben & Christelle taking the lead, getting to know the customers, and bringing their enthusiasm to the stand. We paused the Saturday morning shop at Lovebrook, and replaced it with an honesty stand, which proved to be an excellent idea. The fact that it was there all week, and locals could pop in and get something when they needed it, meant higher income than from the 3 hour window when we used to have a staffed shop.
Careful planning from Kate & Lee meant there was very little surplus - so what extra we had either went to our 2 regular wholesale customers (Kevin/Seasons), to our volunteers, or was preserved into chutney & jam. The final harvest of the year will take place on Tues 17th Dec, and anything left after that will be gleaned by a local food project.
Wider Farm Environment
The whole farm has continued to be improved, by regenerating and reclaiming areas using permaculture and agroecological principles. A large food forest has begun, with the first layer of trees planted, and the second layer now being planned. Hedgerows all around the borders have been thickened and restored with native species, and many areas of trees and plants for shade, fruit, nuts, coppice and more have been planted around the farm. The sauna glade was remodelled, changing from a thin track to a wide expanse of lawn, soon to be planted with medicinal and therapeutic herbs and plants, and lovely handmade benches for seating. And recently the area in front of the central barn has also been reshaped, to create what will be a large expanse for gathering and enjoying the views. A collaboration with Duncan has brought bees to the land. And we saw a major development with Hannah & Richard finally securing a home on the land, and dismantling the mobile home.
Community Volunteer days
Our Monday & Tuesday drop in volunteer days, kindly supported by The National Lottery Community Fund, continued to be a fundamental, and highly valued part of our offering throughout 2024. They are an important anchor to many peoples' week, and our volunteers tell us they appreciate the connection to nature and community, the purposeful work, new friends, the hearty lunches and the sense of achievement that these days bring. Both days have been very well attended in 2024, with groups of 10-15 people on Mondays, and up to 25 on a Tuesday. The input from these days has made a huge impact on the regeneration of the farm - from the trees and hedgerows that have been planted, the new areas that have been created, the composting, mulching, pruning, cleaning, digging, livestock care… to the year round market gardening that takes place. These days are a cornerstone to the work we do at Lovebrook, and we look forward to them continuing in 2025
Traineeship
We ran Year 2 of our market garden traineeship - which was kindly supported by The Enjoolata Foundation. It was great to be able to build on our curriculum and learnings from Year 1, and Lee delivered the 36 week course to 6 new participants who wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to attend a training like this. They were a fantastic cohort, with excellent attendance and commitment to the course, which ran from March to October. During this time they learned all aspects of market gardening, from the hands-on practical work, to the theory and behind the scenes management. They are all looking forward to taking their new skills out into the wider community, or applying them to their current roles.
See the short film we made here:
Skill Share
We introduced the idea for volunteers and friends of Lovebrook to share their passions, hobbies and skills with others in the community. This provided a low-pressure opportunity for those with something to share, and a lovely way for others to learn new skills and get to know more about each other. Donations were encouraged, so it was also a way for a small income to come from each skill share workshop, to cover the cost of delivery. Sessions included the incredibly popular kombucha making, plus yoga sessions, gong baths, harmony singing workshops, local crafting and more.
Camping
We were pleased to be able to utilise 60 days of camping allocation this year, during the season from May-September. This made a difference financially to the previous year when the allocation was 26 days. We kept the pitch numbers to 8, tents only, with 2 compost toilets and a simple washing up station, so it continued to be a very quiet and simple experience camping here. This works well, guests love the back to nature vibe, and we don’t have a reason to want to scale it up substantially. Some improvements for next year would be focussed around some development to the toilets, installing a hot shower, and refining the booking system to offer simple add-ons like logs, fire pits, sauna slots and our market garden produce.
Women’s Wellbeing In Nature Courses
We ran 2 x 10 week wellbeing in nature courses, kindly supported by The National Lottery Community Fund. Each course had 10 participants joining us for 3 hours a week, to join in with a variety of eco-therapeutic and wellbeing practices. These courses were free to access, and aimed specifically at women who may be experiencing depression, anxiety, social isolation, chronic illness or pain, or with underlying trauma. Referrals were taken through the GP social prescribing programme, and from other charity and community organisations in the local area.
Grow, Cook & Eat Courses
We ran 2 x 4 week Grow, Cook & Eat courses, kindly supported by The Sussex Community Foundation. Each course had 10 participants joining us for 3 hours a week, to learn a variety of new skills on the market garden, the wider farm, and in the kitchen. Guests would finish each session with a big shared lunch they had cooked together. The course was delivered by Abi who was a graduate of our traineeship, and assisted by our volunteer Jan. The course was free to access, delivered with an inclusive and trauma sensitive approach, and specifically aimed at people who may not otherwise be able to access nature based experiences or training. Referrals were taken through the GP social prescribing programme, and from other charity and community organisations in the local area.
Wellbeing Days for Organisations
We continued with our offering of wellbeing days for charities and community organisations. These offer a chance for groups and teams who are working hard, often to support others, to take some time out as a team to attend to their own wellbeing, reflect on their work, and their relationships with each other. We love to host these groups, giving them a day of nature connection activities, wellbeing practices, reflection time, farm tours and a delicious lunch from the land. Groups who came in 2024 included teams from Sussex Prisoners Families, The Probation Service, Lunch Positive, The Montessori Place and more.
After This Festival
2024 saw us launch our first festival, a one day event where we explored the seeds of what a radically different future could look like. One that is decentralised, purpose driven, open source, ecological and connected. We listened to talks, enjoyed wellbeing activities, art, music, food and drink, farm tours, community connection and more. We offered bursary and discount places, so there was no barrier to participation, as well as involving an amazing crew of volunteer helpers who made the day run smoothly and also got to participate in the event. It was a sell out with a waiting list, so we plan to develop the event to a full weekend in 2025.
Sauna & Yoga
Regular Friday morning yoga classes started back up again at Kingston Parish Hall, delivered by Hannah. These are very popular with the people living in the village, and form another nice community connection. Delivered in 6 week blocks, with a pay what you can afford pricing model.
And we took delivery of our wood fired sauna in February, which has been another great addition to the farm. We offer community group sessions, longer themed sessions, private hire, and incorporate the sauna into full day retreats and camping weekends. Prices include a pay it forward option which is often generously taken up, which means we have been able to build up some surplus and offer saunas to groups who wouldn’t otherwise have been able to afford them.
Praise For Lovebrook
The opportunity to volunteer and support a venture that is benefiting people and nature makes me feel positive and meaningful. Hannah and Rich make me feel valued with their happy welcome and hearty lunches. Working on the land and seeing seeds grow into plants grounds me and gives me an appreciation of the seasons and how hard it is to grow our food. Thank you Hannah and Rich for having this vision and letting me share it with you.
GT - Volunteer
It was a highlight of the week, to know I had this time in community. The meditations were lovely to do outdoors. We didn’t have to explain why we were there. It helped me live in the present. I always felt calmer on those Wednesdays. A respite from the issues for why I was there.
KG - Women’s wellbeing group
I'm absolutely loving the traineeship, it's my favourite day of the week! I really like how hands on it is, and the way that the homework chats are structured. The group feels a really nice size, the length of the day is perfect, and I really appreciate that Lee checks in with us in the morning, is flexible with tasks and looks after our wellbeing. I feel like I can bring my full self to Lovebrook and be open to learning and sharing with the group.
JT - Market Garden Traineeship
I’d just like to say a big thankyou to Abi and Jan for being such great teachers over the last 4 weeks. Lots of energy, enthusiasm and empathy all round. It’s been a great experience and I’ve loved the growing knowledge they imparted and also the food / cooking element … a great combination. I’ve been inspired at home to try some of the things we did at Lovebrook. It’s a magical place, thankyou for putting me in the group
PW - Growing Together Course