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Greenacres Smallholding Suffolk

Jo Henderson • Sep 30, 2021

Inspired by a childhood longing for the countryside, Jo Henderson shares her story from her life in London to her quest to champion regenerative farming in Suffolk.


She's planned to re-instate the boundary hedgerows at Greenacres Smallholding, with 420 saplings coming this November from the Woodland Trust as part of The Queens Green Canopy Project.


With an aim to be a Heritage Breeds Farm she's setting out to plant a Suffolk Heritage Orchard building a Cob House and Barn, to run the farm as it would have been before WWI, by hand and horse.


Greenacres Smallholding

I grew up in Southwest London, my maternal grandparents lived in rural Gloucestershire and throughout my childhood, I would regularly visit and stay with them and they taught me all the rural knowledge they had that had been passed on to them from their parents and grandparents. My Grandad could whistle all the bird songs, and my Nana had a robin she would feed rich tea biscuits to on a chair outside the back door, sometimes he/she would come into the kitchen. Both my grandparents encouraged my love for the outdoors, gardening and horses, but London life was none too giving of my yearning for being outside and so I learned how to get by with magical trips to Gloucestershire.  

In my teens I left my safe places of solace and followed the pace of life that London showed me. At the age of 26 I found myself married with 2 daughters and a year later I was divorced, on my own in the Midlands. To ensure my girls did not go without I embarked on a Social Work degree course, bought 2 ponies for the girls, and was able to find some solace in nature again. I completed my degree (2:1 with hons.) and set about finding a job. We moved to Ipswich in 2008, me, the kids, the dog, cat and by now 3 horses.
 
8 years on I met a man who would change my life forever. We had reduced the horses by now, to just one heavy cob, Belle, she had been bought for my youngest daughter for her 18th birthday. We were keeping Belle on a small livery yard, owned by an elderly gentleman by the name of Keith. Keith would have regular deliveries of hay for his ponies, and he decided one way or another that the hay man and I would be a good match. I have to admit he’s right on this one!

Andy is 4th generation farmer, whose family had sadly sold up their 16th century farm in 2009. Andy had managed to retain 12 acres and all the machinery but had no time to carry out the work to maintain and sustain the land the way that he wanted to. Andy and I have the same “old fashioned” value base, that you work with the land and in tune with nature. We set about talking about how lovely it would be to be able to do some good for other people, whilst making good the land. The idea for Greenacres Smallholding developed from there. 

One Sunday when talking to my Dad about what we were trying to achieve with regenerative farming practices, he mentioned he’d read an article about 3 farmers in East Anglia who were setting up a movement to re-wild 20% of their land and encourage others.  Then very soon after there they were on Countryfile, I was so excited that I got straight on to doing more research and made our pledge. 


Our Wild East Pledge is to re-instate the boundary hedgerows to the South of the site, we have 420 saplings coming this November from the Woodland Trust as part of The Queens Green Canopy Project.  Just half of the number we need but it’s a start. 


We are using a small herd of pigs to turn over half an acre of ground a year to get rid of perennial dock and thistle that have taken over. 


We are mob grazing the meadow with the horses this Autumn to clear perennial rye grass and encourage wild flowers and mixed meadow grasses, Belle will be chain harrowing next Spring.


We aim to be a Suffolk Heritage breeds farm, using the livestock that were bred for the area and conditions in Suffolk to utilize them for all their original purposes.


We will be planting a Suffolk Heritage Orchard and building a Cob House and Barns, and digging ponds, in order that we can run the farm as it would have been between WWI & WWII, that is by hand and horse.


Greenacres Smallholding CIC(“Greenacres”), aims to be an all-inclusive, safe community where people from all walks of life, can come together to share in the beauty, peace and tranquility of the countryside, while improving the quality of the land and natural environment.


Suffolk is essentially a rural county, with strong farming and craft traditions dating back centuries.  Traditionally farming was at the heart of the community, it provided work and sustenance, and a community was built around the need for labour.  The school summer holidays were introduced in order that children could help to bring in the harvest. 


Greenacres aims to re-engage people in working together, using traditional, regenerative methods of farming, to create a level of understanding of the work involved in livestock and arable farming, . that is, where your food comes from, how it is grown, and the amount of work involved in food production.  By engaging people with nature-based activities will heighten their awareness of nature and the important role of every living thing on the farm. 


We are offering membership of the farm and are active members of Community Supported Agriculture UK offering a share of the harvest to our members.  We officially opened on 18th September this year and are actively seeking like minded people to become farm members, and volunteer on our journey as we turn the clock back to a time when we worked hand in hand with nature.


www.greenacressmallholding.co.uk


WildEast Blog

WILD STORIES - WILDEDGES

By by WildEast • 05 May, 2022
Broad bushy hedges, or WildEdges , can become substantial ecological assets whilst increasing crop productivity for the farmer. WildEast estimate that 5% (62,500 hectares) of the 20% of wildlife habitat required, could come from WildEdges. Working together, WildEast and Land App will equip farmers with the toolkit that they need to transform their farmland hedges into rich wildlife habitat. 80% of the WildEast footprint is agricultural land. WildEast and LandApp aim to enable landowners to broaden hedges to increase space for wildlife. If you're having difficulty viewing the below Wild Story, please head here.
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