Project Unitea

In this partnership project with the Pickwell Foundation and Barnstaple Town Council, we're co-creating a new community tea garden in Barnstaple — a welcoming, nature-friendly space where people can connect, grow, and enjoy a freshly harvested cuppa together!

The garden will be designed and created in partnership with DWT and volunteers from the Pickwell Foundation, who are refugees and asylum seekers. As well as cultivating a variety of plants that can be harvested and blended into tea - such as chamomile, lemon balm or rosemary - the garden will be developed using wildlife-friendly principles, including peat-free compost, chemical-free growing methods, and planting a wide range of pollinator-friendly species rich in nectar and pollen. In doing so, the project will create a space that supports biodiversity as well as people.

Barnstaple Town Council have kindly given permission for the tea garden to be based by the clock tower and museum in Barnstaple and we want this to be a space for everyone: a place not only for volunteers, but for the wider community to enjoy, relax, and reconnect with nature.

Nature is for everyone but we also know that opportunities to take action for nature are not always equally accessible for all. Barriers such as living circumstances, confidence, or capacity can prevent people from getting involved. This project is designed to help break down those barriers, creating a supportive and accessible environment for people to engage with nature in meaningful ways.

Through this pilot, we hope to unite refugees and asylum seekers with their local communities, creating opportunities to connect and take action together. Rooted in practical action, the Pickwell Foundation works towards a more welcoming, resilient, and sustainable society where both people and nature can thrive.

Ultimately, we hope the tea garden will become a safe, shared space — somewhere volunteers can build connections, grow in confidence, and take pride in what they’ve created. And, of course, a place to sit together in a wildlife-friendly space and enjoy a well-earned cup of tea made from plants they’ve grown themselves.