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Episode 0458th October 202557:35
Community Land Stewardship with Chris Blake
This week on the https://www.grangeproject.co.uk/wilder-podcast , we sit down with Chris Blake to explore how communities can steward land through collaboration, long-term vision and trust between local people and public bodies. We also share https://www.grangeproject.co.uk/ updates (bumper ap...
Episode 045
Community Land Stewardship with Chris Blake
Chapters:13
0:000:00
About This Episode
This week on the
https://www.grangeproject.co.uk/wilder-podcast
, we sit down with Chris Blake to explore how communities can steward land through collaboration, long-term vision and trust between local people and public bodies. We also share
https://www.grangeproject.co.uk/
updates (bumper apple harvest, the market garden & "cathedral-scale" polytunnel!), two recent courses, and announce
https://wilderawaydays.co.uk
Key takeaways:
Timestamps: — Welcome & what’s ahead
— Grange Project update: community day, record apple harvest & juice pressing
— Announcement: Wilder Away Days (purposeful team retreats in wild nature)
— Guest intro: Chris Blake & the journey to community stewardship
— What is “community land stewardship”? Why it matters
— Lessons from Scotland’s community buyouts (Noidart, forestry, hydro, housing)
— The co-production model in the Rhondda: who’s in the room & how it ran
— Designing for Continuous Cover Forestry & local jobs over decades
— Why agencies benefit: capacity, risk culture, and policy delivery
— Accountability: FSC, public scrutiny & relationship-based safeguards
— Inside the room: creative methods, expert “witnesses,” values > wish-lists
— Where to go for help (nation-specific orgs)
— Closing reflections: changing the values that shape landscapes
— Hosts’ debrief: win-wins, optimism, and where else co-production fits
Guest:Chris Blake - social entrepreneur focused on community energy and land stewardship; founding director at https://www.thegreenvalleys.org/ , long-term work in the Rhondda on co-produced forest visions; chair & founding trustee at https://blackmountainscollege.uk/ ; volunteer director at https://copronet.wales/ and https://www.globalactionplan.org.uk/ .
Resources & organisations mentioned:
Getting started / advice:
New: Wilder Away Days (for teams)Ditch the windowless hotel. Come to our architect-designed hub in wild nature for strategy, communication and team-bonding days - with facilitation by a clinical psychologist, purposeful conservation activities, and seasonal food grown metres from the table. Profits support Wilder Connections (youth nature-connection charity).
Enquiries: https://wilderawaydays.co.uk
About the hosts:Chloe Constable - clinical psychologist & systemic psychotherapist; facilitator of reflective, nature-based work with organisations, co-leads the Grange Project and the Wilder Podcast.
Tom Constable - veteran, producer and entrepreneur; co-leads the Grange Project and the Wilder Podcast.
Show description:The Wilder Podcast explores nature connection, rewilding and the practicalities of building people-and-planet-positive projects - told from the ground at our 80-acre https://www.grangeproject.co.uk/ in Wales, plus conversations with practitioners, researchers and community leaders.
Connect & share:
- our nature-based corporate retreats.
Key takeaways:
- Community land stewardship ≠ one model. Freehold, long leasehold, management agreements and co-production each offer different ways for local values to shape land.
- Co-production works when power is shared. Start with a blank page, bring evidence-givers (forestry, ecology, education), and let a mixed panel turn evidence into values & principles - not expert-written plans.
- Continuous Cover Forestry (CCF) can beat clear-fell on 100-year horizons: better soils, flood risk, vistas - and local, steady jobs from ongoing thinning rather than boom-and-bust harvesting.
- Public bodies win too. Communities unlock grants, volunteers and entrepreneurial energy that agencies often lack - delivering outcomes already in policy (biodiversity, access, carbon).
- Trust is the glue. A year-long, facilitated process built mutual respect between
- Practical first steps. If transfer isn’t feasible, explore long leases or co-produced forest/resource plans; talk to national support orgs early (see "Resources").
Timestamps: — Welcome & what’s ahead
— Grange Project update: community day, record apple harvest & juice pressing
— Announcement: Wilder Away Days (purposeful team retreats in wild nature)
— Guest intro: Chris Blake & the journey to community stewardship
— What is “community land stewardship”? Why it matters
— Lessons from Scotland’s community buyouts (Noidart, forestry, hydro, housing)
— The co-production model in the Rhondda: who’s in the room & how it ran
— Designing for Continuous Cover Forestry & local jobs over decades
— Why agencies benefit: capacity, risk culture, and policy delivery
— Accountability: FSC, public scrutiny & relationship-based safeguards
— Inside the room: creative methods, expert “witnesses,” values > wish-lists
— Where to go for help (nation-specific orgs)
— Closing reflections: changing the values that shape landscapes
— Hosts’ debrief: win-wins, optimism, and where else co-production fits
Guest:Chris Blake - social entrepreneur focused on community energy and land stewardship; founding director at https://www.thegreenvalleys.org/ , long-term work in the Rhondda on co-produced forest visions; chair & founding trustee at https://blackmountainscollege.uk/ ; volunteer director at https://copronet.wales/ and https://www.globalactionplan.org.uk/ .
Resources & organisations mentioned:
- public forest & land manager in Wales
- community woodland group in Treherbert
- community renewable energy & stewardship
- climate-focused higher education
- facilitation & training
- forest management standards & accountability
Getting started / advice:
- (Note: legislation and routes differ by nation - start with your country’s body above.)
New: Wilder Away Days (for teams)Ditch the windowless hotel. Come to our architect-designed hub in wild nature for strategy, communication and team-bonding days - with facilitation by a clinical psychologist, purposeful conservation activities, and seasonal food grown metres from the table. Profits support Wilder Connections (youth nature-connection charity).
Enquiries: https://wilderawaydays.co.uk
About the hosts:Chloe Constable - clinical psychologist & systemic psychotherapist; facilitator of reflective, nature-based work with organisations, co-leads the Grange Project and the Wilder Podcast.
Tom Constable - veteran, producer and entrepreneur; co-leads the Grange Project and the Wilder Podcast.
Show description:The Wilder Podcast explores nature connection, rewilding and the practicalities of building people-and-planet-positive projects - told from the ground at our 80-acre https://www.grangeproject.co.uk/ in Wales, plus conversations with practitioners, researchers and community leaders.
Connect & share:
- Subscribe & review: it really helps others find the show
- Share this episode with someone working in land, community or local government
- Book a Wilder Away Day for your team:
- Follow the Grange Project for course dates, volunteer days & market-garden news: