NORTON COMMUNITY FARM
Growing food, biodiversity and community.
Norton Community Farm is where people, food and nature come together.
From our Market Garden and community allotments to workshops, volunteering, events and shared meals, we’re creating a place where people can get involved in the life of the farm — whether that’s growing food, learning something new or simply spending more time connected to the land.
A place to grow, learn and take part.
OUR VISION
We live at a time when many of us feel increasingly disconnected from our food, from nature and from one another. Industrial food systems have brought convenience, but often at the cost of healthy soils, biodiversity, local economies and community resilience. At the same time, opportunities to learn practical land-based skills and connect with the natural world are becoming increasingly rare.We believe there is another way. Norton Community Farm is an invitation to reimagine what a farm can be — not simply a place of production, but a place of learning, gathering and regeneration.A place where good food is grown for local families and wildlife is given room to flourish. Where children can discover where food comes from, people can learn practical skills, neighbours can grow alongside one another, and farmers, growers and communities can exchange knowledge.More than a place to grow food.
Our Community Supported Agriculture Veg Box scheme is part of this vision. We want to reconnect people with the food they eat, the land it comes from and the people who grow it. By becoming a member, people directly support local food production, share in the seasons and help build a more resilient, environmentally conscious food system rooted in this place.
But food is only the beginning. Through community growing, volunteering, learning, events and much more, we want to create opportunities for people to participate rather than simply consume — building relationships with the land and with one another.As a not-for-profit Community Interest Company, Norton Community Farm exists for community benefit. The value we create is reinvested back into the project — helping us grow food, restore nature, share skills and create more opportunities for people to take part.
A place to grow food, knowledge, connection and community resilience — together.
TAKING ROOT AT NORTON
One landscape. Many ways to take part.
The farm is a place to share knowledge as well as produce food. Courses, workshops, school projects, practical training, volunteering and mentoring will create opportunities for people of different ages and backgrounds to learn about growing, farming, ecology and land stewardshipAt the heart of the project is a productive no-dig market garden, growing seasonal vegetables, herbs and flowers for local people through our CSA-style Veg Boxes and direct farm sales. Alongside the garden, eggs, fruit, flowers and other produce will help create a diverse local food offer rooted in the seasons.
Food production sits alongside nature recovery. Agroforestry, new orchards, habitat creation, pollinator planting, soil regeneration and careful water management are being woven through the project.
Rather than separating productive land from nature, we want to explore how the two can work together.Events, gatherings, volunteering, shared meals and seasonal celebrations create opportunities to meet, participate and feel connected to the place.Norton growing space
Grow your own. Learn together.
Norton Growing Space is our community allotment area within Norton Community Farm — a place for local people to grow their own food while becoming part of a wider community of growers.Whether you’re an experienced gardener or sowing your first seed, you’ll have your own growing space alongside shared facilities, practical support and opportunities to learn, volunteer and take part in the wider life of the farm.
AGROECOLOGY IN PRACTICE
Farming as a connected system.
We see the farm as a living system. Soil, plants, trees, livestock, water, wildlife and people sustain one another. The food the land grows becomes part of us; its health and ours are inseparable.Agroecology means working with these relationships — building fertile soil, welcoming wildlife and growing good food, while keeping knowledge, decisions and the value of the harvest rooted in the community.Through growing, learning and sharing food, we nurture belonging and the skills to care for this place together.
COME AND EXPERIENCE IT
OUR GATES ARE OPEN
We’re opening Norton Community Farm for the day. Come and explore the Market Garden and Norton Growing Space, meet the people behind the project, hear about what we’re growing and creating, and discover the different ways you can get involved.
Whether you’re curious about a Veg Box, interested in growing your own food, looking for volunteering opportunities or simply want to see what’s happening at Norton — come and say hello.
Sunday 4th October 11-3pm
WHO’S BEHIND IT
Built through collaboration.
Norton Community Farm is being developed by Agroecology Project in partnership with Norton Court Farm, bringing together a working agricultural landscape with experience in agroecology, growing, education, hospitality, design and community-led projects.Agroecology Project was founded by Jehan-Basil Gibson and Marta Verdu around a shared belief that food, farming, ecology and people are deeply connected.
Basil is an agroecologist and designer with more than a decade of experience designing and establishing productive agroecological systems. His work spans agroforestry, silvopasture, market garden design, soil health, water management and ecological restoration. He is also an experienced and passionate teacher, delivering practical courses and training and sharing the skills and knowledge he has developed through years of working with land. He holds an MSc in Agroecology and is a Soil Association Soil Ambassador.
JEHAN-BASIL GIBSON
MARTA VERDU
Marta is a grower, designer and hospitality professional with more than twenty years of experience across food, hospitality and creative work. Her background spans restaurants and hotels, graphic design, branding and communications, alongside food and flower growing. At Norton, she brings these skills together — developing the project’s identity and communications while helping shape the market garden, community engagement, events and the experiences that connect people with the farm, its food and the landscape.BE PART OF IT
Norton Community Farm isn’t something we want to build behind closed doors.
It is a place for growers, volunteers, families, schools, neighbours, farmers, learners and organisations — and it will continue to evolve through the people who become part of it.
Whether you want to grow your own food, collect a weekly Veg Box, volunteer, learn a new skill, come to an event or simply follow the journey, there is a place for you here.
