Erw Dewi/Dew’s Acre Quiet Garden
Community Garden in Pembrokeshire - Wales
Erw Dewi / Dewi’s Acre (Dewi is the Pembrokeshire name for St David) has been set up in recent years as a community garden at the heart of St Davids city
Contact details
Name: Janet Ingram
Email: education@stdavidscathedral.org.uk
Telephone: 01437 729151
The garden is nestled amongst the historic buildings of the Cathedral Close and Bishop’s Palace. It is a collaborative project between Eco Dewi, a local environmental group, and St Davids Cathedral. The garden is used by community groups, as well as regulars to the cathedral and its visitors: a place for all to experience and enjoy God’s creation, and to encourage wellbeing and creativity – storytelling, pilgrimage, art & crafts, biodiversity, appreciation of and encouraging nature and to build and sustain habitats for local wildlife. Erw Dewi is situated in The Close beside the Canonry and feels very much like a secret garden. It has had a variety of past uses but had become overgrown with brambles. In 2020 a small band of volunteers from the cathedral and community began to spend time there, carefully clearing some of the plot and beginning to imagine what might be. We now grow fruit and vegetables in the raised beds and it has become a haven for wildlife and a welcoming space for locals and visitors. Around the edge of the garden are mature trees and areas for development. We have a small wildflower meadow, flower beds and pond, herb patch and orchard, fruit cage and greenhouse, drystone wall gathering area and plans for a contemplative nook and discovery area for children. Throughout the garden are woodchip paths and benches from which to view the landscape and listen to the birdsong and cathedral bells chiming.
Visitor information
The garden is open every day. Some Quiet Days and contemplative sessions have been held each month throughout the Summer and into Autumn. On Thursdays the garden is open specifically for contemplative prayer and as a quiet space.
Opening times
Every day
Address
The Close, next to the Canonry, St Davids Pembrokeshire SA62 6PE Wales
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