This World Homeless Day (October 10), we are calling on local people to attend volunteering sessions to help our new tree nursery near St Austell, which has been set up to raise money to support people out of homelessness.
We are currently fundraising to create a residential community in the Duchy which will provide accommodation, support, work and training to help formerly homeless people get back on their feet.
To aid our fundraising, we have set up our first social enterprise – The Emmaus Community Tree Nursery at Trewoon – which is located near St Austell, overlooking Carlyon Bay. With preparation for the tree nursery site underway, we are now eager to welcome locals who are interested in getting involved with the new project.
The first set of volunteering sessions we’re hosting involves collecting tree seeds at Trewithen Gardens. The sessions take place every Wednesday from 10am during October and November, with all walking abilities welcome and no experience needed. During the sessions, volunteers are guided by gardeners from Trewithen Gardens to collect seeds, which we will plant at our tree nursery early next spring.
Rod Richardson, a trustee at Emmaus Cornwall, said:
“We’re delighted to be at the stage where we can welcome volunteers to help with our new tree nursery. Our aim is to meet the need for locally grown trees and generate income to provide accommodation and support to people who have experienced homelessness. Volunteers will be vital to our tree nursery, and I urge people to get in touch to reserve a spot on one of our seed collecting sessions.
“Trewithen Gardens is a beautiful and peaceful location to enjoy a walk with us, meet new people, collect tree seeds, and help our homelessness charity, all at the same time. The seeds we collect now will be planted at our nursery, which will eventually be home to hundreds of native broadleaf trees thanks to the help of our volunteers. Please join us as a volunteer to play a part in making it all happen.”
For more information about our seed collection sessions and to reserve your spot, visit www.emmaus.org.uk/cornwall/volunteer-role/seed-collecting-volunteer