Repair Growing for Change storm damaged Polytunnel

Dear supporters,

As many of you already know, Growing for Change CIC is an organic Market Garden, specifically for people in recovery from substance misuse and/or mental ill health. We are now based solely at Moelyci Farm in Tregarth, just outside Bangor, Gwynedd. Our project has been instrumental in helping many of our volunteers rebuild their lives and maintain their recoveries. With this in mind, we are launching this emergency fundraiser as the future of our project is in jeopardy, owing to the significant damaged caused by storms Isha and Jocelyn this past week.

4 Years ago we inherited the large Polytunnel and unused land, directly behind Blas Lon Las Farm Shop & Cafe at Moelyci. However, as of 2024 the Polytunnel is approximately 15 years old! For context, the average life of Polytunnel skin/plastic is between 3 and 5 years. As such, our Polytunnel is in dire need of a new skin/plastic.

To make matters worse, the stormy weather has wreaked havoc on the skin/plastic of our aging Polytunnel. Our Winters have become so wet and windy, and the wind in particular is incredibly destructive. Following storms Isha and Jocelyn this week, our Polytunnel has taken a battering and we have multiple large rips and tears to repair. Over the past few years we have carried out multiple repairs of this nature. However, given the age of the skin/plastic, we are fighting a losing battle. The skin/plastic is now disintegrating making effective repairs almost impossible. Sadly, damage to our aging Polytunnel wasn't the only consequence of storms Isha and Jocelyn. We lost crops to the severe winds and our Caterpillar Tunnels were badly damaged too.

We use the Polytunnel to grow approximately 750 Tomato plants each Summer, and a variety of Salad Greens through Winter. Tomatoes are our biggest seller and highest value crop. They simply cannot be grown outside in the quantities required to fulfil our customer orders. Thus, a functioning Polytunnel is critical, not only to the business side of our charity but to our volunteer's, who tend to these crops as part of their recoveries.

We are all too aware that we are only in January, and therefore, more storms are likely. We are gravely concerned about our aging Polytunnels' ability to withstand said storms and the impact this will have on our volunteers and project as a whole.

We are currently waiting on quotes for the re-skinning of our Polytunnel. It is our understanding that the cost of the plastic and labour to fit it, will be in the region of 5 to 10K. As such, we have chosen a target of 5K as this would be an incredible start. We are a small charity (Community Interest Company CIC) and our recent move to Moelyci has meant we have had to spend a considerable amount of money moving our infrastructure, leaving our funds depleted. Further, we are in the midst of a Cost of Living crisis, and this has made obtaining grants incredibly difficult, as competition is fierce and there simply isn't enough money to go round.

We are ever so grateful for all of our wonderful volunteers, supporters and customers. This project would not exist without you. We would not be asking for donations if it wasn't absolutely critical to our project. All donations we receive will go towards re-skinning our aging Polytunnel and we will provide updates accordingly. However, if you are unable to donate at this time, all we ask is that you consider sharing this fundraiser via Social Media, and with your friends and family.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

From, the Growing for Change Team.

Photo's of some of the damage to our Polytunnel during storms Isha and Jocelyn: