Permaculture Association
Gardens & woodland in North Devon - welcoming volunteers Apple Fri, 16/01/2026 - 19:31 Dates and times 17 Jan 26 - 17 Jan 27 Full dates and times info To be discussed. Cost 0 Event summary Gardens & Woodland in North Devon

We’re inviting to our land people who feel a genuine pull toward working with land, plants, and living systems, people who enjoy meaningful effort, good questions, and the satisfaction of contributing to something that’s still becoming.

Our home is an 18-acre site in North Devon, largely pasture for horses, with a small woodland, a river, a pond, gardens, a polytunnel, and natural springs. It’s a place that rewards attention.

We’re creating a conversation with land: one that includes gardens, food, water, animals, and the people who pass through and leave their mark.

What We’re Growing

Over time, we’re shaping:

a gravel, drought-resistant garden an orchard a forest garden spaces for vegetables and flowers to be shared with the wider community

We care about permaculture principles, beauty, resilience, usefulness, belonging, and letting the land inform

 us what wants to happen next.

We don’t have a rigid plan and we’re learning as we go, adjusting as the seasons respond, and trusting that clarity comes from paying attention.

Plants, Place & Paying Attention

Plant knowledge, whether learned through books, training, experience, or long hours of watching is valued here.

This place will suit people who enjoy:

noticing what thrives naturally choosing plants for resilience, harmony, and usefulness (including being horse-friendly), not just appearance letting decisions grow out of relationship with place rather than control Water, Springs & the Intelligence of the Land

Water shapes this land in visible and subtle ways.

With two natural springs, surface flow, and shifting wet-to-dry conditions, water is constantly offering information. We’re learning to read it , where it wants to move, where it wants to rest, and how it shapes everything else.

We’re inspired by places such as the Findhorn Foundation and Perelandra, not to copy, but as reminders that listening closely to land is both practical and profound.

An interest in water, whether technical, intuitive, or simply attentive, is very welcome here, including:

understanding natural flow, seepage, saturation, and springs gentle water stewardship (ponds, channels, soakaways, overflow paths) a felt sense for how land responds when it’s treated with respect Horses, Manure & the Art of Alchemy

We share this land with horses, which means we’re also gifted with a steady supply of horse manure, a resource full of potential and possibility.

We’d love to meet people who see this not as a problem to manage, but as a opportunity for transformation:

thoughtful storage and composting understanding balance; carbon and nitrogen, air and moisture, time and temperature creating fertile compost for gardens, trees, and long-term soil health experimenting with windrows, bays, sheet composting, or slower systems working responsibly with smell, runoff, and seasonal rhythms

There’s no rush here. We’re interested in right relationship.

Experience helps, of course, but curiosity, patience, and a willingness to stay with a process matter just as much.

How This Works

Some people come for a short while. Occasionally, someone stays longer. What matters most is that everyone involved is grounded, capable, and able to take responsibility for how they show up. 

If You’re Curious

If this speaks to you, we’d love to hear a little about:

what draws you to land-based work any experience with gardens, plants, water, soil, or animals what you’re hoping to give — as well as what you hope to learn

Sometimes the most interesting things begin with a simple conversation.

 

 

Venue website collacott.co.uk Event image Contact name Tam Event Contact Email hello@collacott.co.uk Contact phone 07739561065 (WhatsApp only) Address of venue

Collacott Farm Kings Nympton Umberleigh EX37 9TP United Kingdom

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