HORTICULTURE, VALE OF GLAMORGAN, WALES: Stephen lives in a community in the Vale of Glamorgan and grows food for its 12-or-so inhabitants. The site, called Coed Hills, consists of around 100 acres (40 hectares) of fields, and 70 acres (28 hectares) of woodland, but the community manages just a tenth of the fields, plus the woodlands. The rest of the land is grazed by animals owned by the landlord and neighbouring farmers. Coed Hills is also an educational centre and events venue, hosting weddings, retreats and workshops.

Working alongside two other growers, Stephen produces fruits and vegetables on a plot of around an acre (0.4 hectare). In addition, he harvests apples, pears and plums from the orchards and manages a forest garden growing perennials ranging from apples to blackcurrant bushes to rhubarb and herbs. Most of what he grows is consumed by the community, with surplus sold to people attending events.

His other farming activities include growing and selling fruit trees (around 300 a year), herbs, seeds and edible perennials such as fruit bushes and rhubarb. The plants are sold to members of the community and at occasional open garden plant sales. Stephen also makes cider from excess apples, and products such as dried herbs, tinctures, and herbal vinegars.

Stephen’s focus is primarily on diversity and resilience, for the sake of both education and research. He is currently growing around 200 different varieties of fruit trees to find out which thrive best in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Stephen’s journey into farming was not a traditional one. When he was young, he was more interested in music and arts and he excelled in sculpture and playing the piano. But health problems at the age of 17 which were not being cured by seeing his local doctor motivated him to take his health into his own hands. This led him into foraging foods and medicines, as well as growing his own food. His health problems cleared within a year or so and his passion for growing had been born.

Stephen believes he inherited his love of plants and landscapes from his father who, as a landscape architect, spent 35 years designing parks, gardens and landscapes for Sheffield City Council. As a boy, despite living in the city, he enjoyed long walks in the countryside with his family, playing in the park by his house, and spending time at his grandparents’ house in a small village in Somerset.

At 18, Stephen began helping some friends on their allotment and loved it. He was hooked. He then volunteered for the Sheffield Organic Food Initiative (an urban food growing charitable trust dedicated to teaching and creating greater opportunities for city folk to learn about growing their own food) for several years, and subsequently worked as a grower and educator in a range of places, including Coed. In 2017 he decided to settle at Coed.

One of his projects at Coed has been staging Coed Ffest, a festival celebrating land, music, food, healing and well-being. The festival, which includes workshops on growing, dance, singing, basket weaving and massage, has proved a huge success, attracting over 400 visitors.

As other sources of income, Stephen also plays in gigs and does stone carving jobs, mainly lettering, such as gravestones.