Oak Barton Farm

 Alexa has been using herbs as part of her healing journey for over 20 years and has chosen organic food for more than a decade. She is deeply committed to healthy, sustainable living and to supporting the whole self through natural herbs and nourishing food. Living on the land is allowing her to deepen her learning about herbs, plants and native species, while enjoying how her intuitive connection with them continues to grow and evolve.

Felix is a self-employed ecologist with a Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences. He has extensive experience and a deep interest in regenerative, organic and biodynamic farming, land management and permaculture design. Farming, foraging, nature connection and the outdoors are central to his life. Caring for nature, protecting wildlife and working to leave the planet in a better state than he found it are not only his profession, but his passion and life’s purpose.

Bringing together our passions and life experiences into a project like Oak Barton Farm is something that could only happen together. We feel incredibly grateful for the opportunity to create something that we believe is truly needed — for ourselves, for our community and for the land. By becoming guardians of this piece of land, we aim to nurture and support both nature and the people who come here to enjoy and be part of it.   

How Oak Barton Farm began

We moved to South Devon at the start of 2023 to begin this journey. When we first viewed the land in autumn 2022 we could see its potential hidden beneath all that was there at the time. Fortunately timings were on our side for the sale of the land to go through - it really felt like the universe helped to align everything and that the land had found us just at the right time!

From late February in 2023 we started - with two empty paddocks, surrounded by dense, overgrown bramble, along with around six tonnes of rubbish, scrap metal and several abandoned cars scattered across the site. It felt as though the land had been left untouched for many years. The first four months were focused entirely on clearing and restoring the space. This process became a powerful way for us to connect with the land, removing what no longer belonged and allowing it to breathe again, bringing a renewed sense of life and possibility. It was an essential first step in the journey of this land, which we now feel deeply grateful to be guardians of.

The foundations of our vision for Oak Barton Farm began with a clear sense that the land needed more hedgerows and trees — to welcome wildlife back and to create smaller, more diverse and more manageable spaces. We were fortunate to receive funding from the Plymouth and South Devon Community Forest project, enabling us to plant approximately 7,000 trees and hedgerow plants. In total, we planted 32 different species of native trees and shrubs, creating around 1 kilometre of new hedgerows, along with an orchard, coppice and areas of broadleaved woodland.

Oak Barton Farm CIC – What we would like to achieve for you 

From the very beginning, it was clear to us that this project should benefit both the local community and those who visit the area. We founded Oak Barton Farm as a Community Interest Company at the start of 2024 and are working towards three core aims:

• Producing healthy, nutritious food and medicinal herbs in harmony with nature

• Providing a welcoming space for nature connection, healing, learning, events and community activities

• Restoring and enhancing sustainable farming ecosystems, biodiversity and wider ecosystem services

We want our community to have access to locally produced, healthy and nutritious food and medicinal herbs.

This will be achieved through a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) scheme, offering affordable access on a sliding scale. Participation in the project can be exchanged for a reduced financial contribution, helping to make our produce and activities accessible to people with different financial circumstances. We hope this approach will encourage community involvement in the natural, sustainable production of food and herbal medicine.

Through this work, Oak Barton Farm aims to nurture wellbeing within the local community

Oak Barton Farm are designed to foster a strong sense of community and belonging within both the natural and social environment.

Members of the community will have the opportunity to participate in projects that support positive change and growth — within themselves, the wider community and the natural world. Through this, Oak Barton Farm aims to support and enhance both physical and mental wellbeing at an individual and community level.

Oak Barton Farm is creating a sustainable farming ecosystem that not only produces high-quality, organic food and medicinal plants, but also delivers wider benefits for nature and the local community. These include increased local biodiversity, expanded tree cover, greater carbon sequestration and improved water retention, helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change and reduce flood risk. By strengthening the resilience of local ecosystems to environmental pressures such as climate change and habitat loss, these positive effects will benefit the South Hams area and, on a smaller scale, the wider region.

Any surplus generated will be reinvested into Oak Barton Farm CIC to maintain, enhance and expand these activities, and to support people with a range of financial and physical abilities to take part in activities and access our produce.

Where are we now? 

Year 3! Check out our blog or Instagram page for latest news!