Volunteering

Our volunteers are a valued part of the life of the thriving, growing community here at the farm. Whether you are looking to bathe in birdsong and the healing balm of green spaces, find purpose or want to learn practical skills for living a more sustainable life, volunteering with us might be for you. We offer weekly day volunteering opportunities for people of all ages, as well as residential volunteering exchanges.

“As we work to heal the Earth , the Earth heals us”
— Robin Wall Kimmerer

Learn. Grow. Connect.

We welcome local volunteers to the farm every Thursday, 9.30am-3pm, starting this year on Thursday 1st February.

Booking Essential. No Experience Necessary. No duress.

We are a welcoming, diverse and inclusive community and promote a culture of non-duress - we value people by who they are and the spirit in which they come to spend time with us, not for their productivity or how much we get done. Your experience means everything to us. There is always a variety of tasks to choose from, and lots of interesting stuff going on. From weeding to watering, building, compost-making, seed sowing, veg packing and more, there’s something for everyone - all abilities, experience levels and whatever your particular interest might be.

Follow us on Instagram to find more about the volunteer experience….

Some of the treats of peak harvest time…. A Summer Crookneck squash from @wales_seed_hub and a beautiful pattison squash from @theseedcooperative. It’s hard to keep up with harvesting what the garden and the hedgerows are providing rig
Have you enjoyed our @ceginywerin cooking demos? We need to get some feedback on how they’ve helped you in the kitchen and with using your veg box! We’d appreciate a like of this post and any comments below on how our live cooking demo
We are about to do a big apple juicing session! Do you have apple trees that you don’t use or don’t have time to harvest? We can come and harvest your trees and turn it into beautiful crowdsourced community apple juice in our 50L apple
“I came to Glasbren at a low point in my life, and the gentle support and acceptance offered there by the people and land came when I desperately needed it. Glasbren has offered a safe space for me to mix with kind and welcoming people and spend time in nature.”
— Sophie, Volunteer & Trainee

Gardening, growing food and time in green spaces is proven to be extremely therapeutic. It can help us to heal from trauma, anxiety and depression and contributes to an overall sense of deep health and wellbeing. It can also really help us to be a part of a kind, welcoming community of practice, coming together around a shared purpose - growing food and healing the land. Both in ourselves and our volunteers, we have seen how powerful coming together to work the land can be as a healer. Our team are currently training in the NatureWell approach to green care and nature connection, created by the Natural Academy, to allow us to help you to deepen your connection to the natural world and find health, wellbeing, meaing and purpose in practical activities in nature.

“The supportive atmosphere at Glasbren makes it a wonderful place to be. I feel I can very honestly be myself and do the work that suits me best, without worry of time pressure. I have made so many meaningful friendships through spending time here too”
— Tara Crank, Volunteer & Outdoor Leader
“We can all benefit from gardening and community food-growing projects. It is widely recognised that regular contact with plants, animals and the natural environment can improve our physical health and mental wellbeing.”
— Professor Tim Lang, SUSTAIN

Volunteering at Glasbren is not only a chance to join a vibrant, welcoming community around the table or the smoking fire, it’s an immersion into permaculture, regenerative living, ecological food growing and a deeper relationship with the living world.

“Volunteering at Glasbren has given me something to look forward to each week, a therapeutic environment away from the noise and anxieties of modern life, plus, a real sense of achievement. If you have the time to spare, then I would definitely recommend volunteering at Glasbren!”
— Ben Jones, Volunteer

What you need to bring

You don’t need to bring much with you - we have tools, gloves and protective gear. Just strong, sturdy (and ideally waterproof) footwear. We will give you a tour, induction and ask you to fill in a couple of forms on arrival, and then we’re good to go!

We’ll provide refreshments and a fresh, delicious vegetarian lunch from the land, prepared in our kitchen. If you have any dietary requirements, please let us know in advance, and we’ll aim to accomodate you.

During the veg box season (June-December), you’ll be given a free box of fresh, delicious, nutritious veg for every days’ volunteering that you do! If you’d like, you can help harvest your own veg selection. We are on hand to help with suggestions and cooking tips on how to use it. We also produce cooking videos and other helpful materials to help you with preparing meals from your veg box.

If you’d like to come and volunteer at Glasbren, get in touch using the contact form below!