St Ives Community Orchard and Penbeagle Nature Reserve encompasses 30 acres of beautiful, open-access, green space at the top of St Ives. A wildlife haven encouraging biodiversity as well as a place where people can socialise, work, learn, play, relax and enjoy the fruits of their labour. An open-access place that everyone can enjoy.
It includes:
- A Community Orchard and Forest Garden, with 100’s of unusual types of fruit trees, fruit bushes and fruit vines, wildflowers, wild grasses, medicinal plants and perennial vegetables. It has a herb garden, social space, picnic benches, cob pizza oven, beehives and is surrounded by woodland trees.
- A Community Vegetable Garden where volunteers work together to grow organic produce using permaculture methods that support soil fertility, sharing the harvest amongst themselves and the community.
- Penbeagle Nature Reserve, a beautiful wildlife haven with lichen-covered blackthorn groves and new woodland, many pathways, moorland and magnificent granite tors.
- A Community Learning Centre, The CORE, an environmentally sustainable community space with accessible teaching garden that aims to connect people to nature through learning, education and exploration
It is also a place where the community come together to celebrate and there are regular Community Events such as Apple day, Wassail, Beltane, Solstice & Equinox celebrations with food, drinks, live music and activities as well as walks, talks and workshops. See our 'What's On'
Volunteers meet there twice a week to look after the space as well as working on various interesting projects. We make apple juice, cider and preserves and cook up large pots of food from produce grown to enjoy at events throughout the year.
The land is leased from Cornwall Council and has been looked after by volunteers for the benefit of the local community and wildlife, following management plans created for this purpose. Since it first started in 2014, the orchard space has been transformed from a piece of unused land covered in mostly brambles and bracken into an abundant, diverse orchard and thousands of native woodland trees have been planted in the Nature Reserve.
The formation of St Ives Orchard CIC (a ‘not for profit’ Community Interest Company) in 2021 aimed to provide a support structure for the land and volunteers. The Core was built in 2024 and has extended what we offer, creating a more accessible space for all to enjoy.
All we do is underpinned by our Mission Vision & Values, striving to embody a code of conduct, summed up by the word and acronym: RESPECT.
OUR TEAM
Our Team comprises a dedicated group of volunteers who are passionate about this land and work hard to create a wonderful space for the community and wildlife to enjoy. All get together regularly to work physically on the land, host various events throughout the year and meet to discuss site management, projects, events and future aspirations.
We have a diverse array of roles; Directors, Members, a Members Committee with a Chair, Clerk and Treasurer, along with Project Managers, Volunteer Co-ordinators, Work Party Team Leads, Safeguarding Officers, Event Organisers, Health, Safety and Publicity Officers, Veggie Cultivators, CORE crew and Cider Makers to name a few. Collectively we form the St Ives Community Orchard and Nature Reserve Group.
We are a friendly bunch and are always happy to stop for a chat, so if you have any questions or would like to volunteer, do pop along to one of the work parties or you can email us. Anyone is welcome to join as a volunteer and come along to our meetings.
Thank you to Mike Bundred www.glassmountainfilms.com for this film, which includes footage from Alban Roinard from St Ives TV and Geoff Wyatt.