Meet the Team at Yr Ardd
Yr Ardd Community Garden was registered as a CIC in February 2021. We have a board of Volunteer Directors, who are passionate about creating a welcoming community garden that brings people together, supports wellbeing, and celebrates the natural environment and operate for the benefit of the Community. If you share the same passion, why not talk to us about joining the Board - Let's keep Yr Ardd Blooming!
Our Directors
Llinos Hallgarth
Llinos has been lucky enough to be involved with the Yr Ardd project from conception. An exciting project where its purpose is to create a welcoming and safe community area, where people of all ages can come together to grow all kinds of plants, learn a range of new skills, socialise outdoors whilst promoting wellbeing and wellness in a very natural holistic way in the Llandysul and Pontweli area through the medium of Welsh.
In addition to being a part-time business skills tutor for Dysgu Bro and her involvement in various community work, Llinos is also a complementary therapist with ‘Clinig Bach y Wlad’ and is qualified in various treatments. Llinos and her sister Siân have been running the clinic for over 12 years, and they have a strong belief and passion in promoting health and well-being in a variety of ways. Over the years they have seen how important the relationship between food and nutrition is for physical and mental health of the body in terms of illness, health and well-being as well as having access to safe outdoor areas to promote the same. It is not a subject that can sit alone. When we treat a body, we must question what we put in our body and how we generally treat the body daily, and how this relationship can make us healthy, happy and viable people. With this vision, Llinos helps run the monthly Cwtsh Natur sessions, where the ethos of taking care of our body, mind and soul through being outside in nature, helps not only nurture, create, heal and grow the plants in Yr Ardd but allows us to do the same to ourselves.
Llinos is looking forward to using this role as a platform to share what she already knows with others. She also wants to seize the opportunity to learn more from those involved, especially about growing and cultivating food and land, and from this apply what she learns in a holistic way to her life and community.
Natalie Owen
I’m a Director at Yr Ardd community garden in Pontweli, and I got involved because I care deeply about bringing people together through nature and growing. For me, Yr Ardd isn’t just about planting seeds in the ground—it’s about planting connections, friendships, and a sense of belonging. This garden means a lot to me because it’s a place where everyone can share skills, stories, and fresh food, while caring for the land we all love. Being part of it feels like being part of something truly special for our community.
Suzanne Owen
My name is Suzanne Owen and I have been involved with voluntary work for many years in the different places that I have lived in. It adds to my mantra of ‘ a life well lived’.
The benefits of being a volunteer are very rewarding. It is an opportunity to meet new people and make friends, offer help to others and get to know more about a community.
Being involved with Yr Ardd community garden since I have retired has been an invaluable opportunity to share my skills, learn more about gardening and meeting like minded people in an out doors environment. We laugh together, drink many cuppas, and eat a lot of cake. Plant lots of seeds and harvest the food which we share with each other and deliver some of the produce to the family centre in Llandysul.
During the Covid lock down we were able to meet, distancing safely, to have a chat and share our emotions and feelings in a safe place while we were deciding how we were going to set up Yr Ardd for the community. The project has at times been very challenging. We applied for Lottery funding to employ a full time project officer, essential tools for the garden, timber for the raised beds, wooden sheds to house a kitchen, a tool shed and a polytunnel.
Yr Ardd is a place of sharing for many people who have experienced some of life’s challenges and we work together to help people to overcome them. Gardening is now a well known inter -generational way of healing for many people.
