A NEW MILL

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New mill uses locally grown grain

ONE of the benefits to come out of the lockdown is a big uptake in baking at home with the National Trust reporting visits to home bake pages increasing by almost 900% compared with the same time last year. Home bakers will be pleased to hear the region has a new mill. Dartington Hall Estate’s Parsonage farm is home to the new mill which is the culmination of many years work, based originally on “Grown in Totnes”, and now a partnership between Parsonage Farm, The Almond Thief and Apricot Centre. This project has been supported by The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development LEADER Programme, LUSH and local support from the LEF “Community of Dragons” in Totnes. The mill is the first of its kind in the UK, a New American Stone Mill from Vermont and has started milling two types of locally grown wheat. One is grown at Huxhams Cross Farm in Dartington is a special wheat called YQ, which stands for “yield” and “quality”. This wheat was specially bred by Wakelyns Agroforestry, in collaboration with the Organic Research Centre. 20 varieties of wheat were crossed to create a diverse “population wheat” that is suited to an organic low input system. The YQ flour is fully organic and biodynamic and is perfect for making cakes and pastry, imparting a rich, nutty flavour. Although lower in gluten than “normal” bread flour, YQ flour can also be used to make a very decent loaf of bread, especially as part of a blend with some higher gluten flour. Dartington Mill is also milling EHO Gold organic wheat grown by Nicola and Richard Rogers from Higher Farm, Beeson, near Beesands. This is being used by The Almond Thief bakery in their new stoneground sourdough loaves. The silky-smooth and aromatic flour helps to produce a high-quality bread that is flavoursome and nutritious.. Andrew Heyn, the American mill maker said: “Freshly ground flour retains more flavour and aromas than pre-ground flour, translating to a more complex, aromatic, and delicious baked good. Stonemilling grinds the bran and germ into the flour along with the endosperm, keeping valuable nutrients in the flour. Coarser elements can be sifted out as you like to produce finer flours, which still retain some of the nutritional benefit of milling the whole grain. Granite millstones help to keep grain cool as it travels through the mill, protecting naturally occurring oils and nutrients. Buying whole grains presents an opportunity to work with local grain growers, and for those farmers to access a local market via a new avenue: your bakery. It’s good for you, your bread, and your community.” Dartington Mill is milling in small batches so freshly milled flour can be delivered to either The Almond Thief or the Apricot centre on a weekly basis. The flour is for sale directly from the Apricot Centre on their online shop www.apricotcentre.co.uk/shop, or email info@apricotcentre.co.uk or call Bob Mehew on 07507841158, and can be delivered locally. The flour will also be available from in other local outlets and Totnes Market on Friday, when it re-opens. It is also stocked in the small shop on Parsonage farm Dartington Hall. The Almond Thief bread is currently available for delivery through their website (https://www. thealmondthief.com/), or via the Apricot centre online shop. You can also buy their bread from The Kitchen Table (thekitchentable.org.uk) on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Lockdown offers a window into gardening

ROSS Adams, he with the greenest green fingers in Devon, has been busy over lockdown and receiving high praise. We know this because we received this glowing review from his latest happy customer - his wife.

It’s true. I am his wife. You may think me bias to give him a glowing recommendation. Perhaps I am. Ross didn’t ask me to write this and if I didn’t feel inspired to, I wouldn’t. So, here I go. Our small garden has been an ongoing project for some time now. As a family with a young child at home and Ross out working on other people’s gardens, we’ve often looked out at our garden with frustration, wondering if there will ever be the time to bring it to life. Lockdown has seen Ross at home more and the most rapid developments have been made in our garden during this time. I love witnessing the dedication and care that Ross gives to our garden. It offers me a window into his professional life that I may not otherwise see. Witnessing him fills me with pride. Ross’ business tagline is ‘bringing gardens to life.’ This is something that is close to his heart and is true on more levels than one. As our garden blossoms and grows, with the help of Ross’ green fingers and our son’s enthusiasm, for the first time since we moved here I am enjoying being in our garden. Not only is it more aesthetically pleasing but, as I walk barefoot to the ground, I can feel the life pulsing within it and, with this, a connection to the wider web of life within and around me. A smile forms in the deep ground of my belly. Flowers; vegetables; fruit trees; birds; butterflies; bees; insects; we even have a tiny pond with tadpoles and a pond snail, and they are thriving in our garden. It shows me what is possible, even in a small space, and inspires me to dream big and get involved! Ross is available for bringing your garden to life and I thoroughly recommend him and will (begrudgingly) hand him back into your service. l If you would like your garden brought to life, contact Ross: 07811608359, rossadams51@ gmail.com, or visit www. abundantgardens.uk

Students tackle global plastic pollution A team of GCSE students have overcome the disruption caused by COVID-19 to their education, completing the entirety of their project by collaborating online amidst the lockdown, to win the British International Education Association’s (BIEA) third annual STEM competition to ‘Save Our Shores from Plastic Pollution’. The students called Team Amet Activists created a detailed plan that involved the application of enzymes dissolve plastic waste, redeployment of military tankers and automated robotic mechanisms in order to collect the plastics. BIEA launched the competition to engage today’s international youth to use education to become the ones who can help save the planet of plastic pollution. 36 finalist teams showcased their designs and prototypes to an international judging panel all aged 9-17 years, from 14 countries and regions (US, UK, Bosnia, Indonesia, South Africa, Nigeria, Philippines, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, UAE, Malaysia, Thailand, India, and Hong Kong). l For more information about the STEM Youth Innovation Competition, visit www.bieacompetition.org.uk

Connecting school kids to our oceans Five primary schools in Plymouth from the multi academy Ocean Conservation Trust team will create and deliver a new Ocean Curriculum that will increase Ocean literacy as part of the nation’s first ever scheme to integrate the oceans into everyday teaching. The ‘Connecting us with our Ocean’ project aims to foster a passion for marine conservation in the pupils. Instead of oceanic discussions being confined to the biology classroom, core subjects like literacy and maths will include marine themes, so students are fully immersed in the ‘context of conservation’. Currently, the science National Curriculum in England is predominantly focused on terrestrial ecosystems, with ocean-related topics excluded entirely from primary schools. Nicola Bridge, from the OCT, “The UK is a national and global leader in marine science, and Ocean-related teaching should be an essential part of the core curriculum.” l Find out more at oceanconservationtrust.org.

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