My journey & what inspires me…
Ever since I was little, I have been fascinated by nature; in fact my very first memory is crawling under a hedge! Originally from West Sussex, I grew up foraging for wild food in the surrounding countryside and telling stories about magical flying chickens! In 2010, following a calling to leave my job as a social worker, I returned to my Romani roots and true calling as a Hedgewitch and moved to a smallholding on the Isle of Anglesey!
Coming to such a peaceful place gave me the chance to regain a sense of calm and reminisce about the magical woodlands of my childhood. The smallholding at the time was home to sheep but once they had left for pastures new, the tired and compacted land called out for some love and re-wilding.
So with the help from my partner Richard and grant funding from the Glastir Project we started to plant trees to create woodlands and wild spaces. Over a decade later, we have planted over five thousand trees and created the most beautiful, organic and diverse ecosystem.
In addition to the woodlands, we have ancient hedgerows that grow all around our land. They have been assessed as being around four hundred years old and are full of life, magic and mystery.
The hedgerows are incredibly rich in food and natural medicine, so much so that I wanted to share their story so I created “The Incredible Edible Hedgerow”. A project that teaches people about the edible, medicinal and useful properties of wild plants and trees.
Since 2011 I have hosted events all over North Wales. I have run wild soup kitchens at festivals, wild food walks in parks, wild women’s wellbeing gatherings, children’s foraging activities in schools and some bespoke wild fun at private venues! Often my events are housed in my beautiful, handmade 21ft geodesic dome which is made from locally sourced Hazel.
In 2012 we planted Welsh fruit trees, these form the canopy of a forest food system that produce different layers of food such as apples, pears and plums with soft fruit bushes, herbs and wilds edibles growing beneath them. The fruit from the orchard and hedgerows inspired me to start making healthy Fruit Leathers and in 2013 I won a Welsh True Taste Award in the healthy-eating category. I sell these at my events- they are very popular!
In 2014 the hedgerows were whispering their magic again and took me on a journey to writing a children’s book called “The Little Hedgewitch”. A book that was based on a poem that wrote in 2010 when I first arrived at my smallholding. For more information about the book please visit my Spirit of the Hedgerider Online Shop .
Today our smallholding is buzzing with life and abundant with food, medicine and magical stories. I am now at the stage where I am taking my business to a new and exciting level. I will be producing some lovely wild inspired products from the natural materials that grow on the this abundant and magical land.
