Happy New Year | Blwyddyn Newydd Dda - 5 ways to step into 2026 with purpose
Blwyddyn Newydd Dda! Happy New Year! We’d like to wish you a joyful, healthy, fruitful and fulfilling 2026.
As the bells ring on a new year, we all start thinking to positive changes, actions and affirmations we can make for the new year. Whether your intentions or resolutions are about your own health or wellbeing, your lifestyle or connection to nature, or more about how you can take positive action for the planet, for your community or for the things you care about, then we‘ve got a few ways top help you realise them!
#1 - Eat healthier.
Many of us take the turning of the clocks, the new calendar year as a chance to reset our lifestyle, and take new steps towards more health, strength and fitness. It’s when many of us will join a new gym, take up a new exercise or sport, or renew our commitment to the ones we already enjoy. For many of you though, you might just want to take make positive changes to your diet, bringing in more fresh, local and healthy produce into your meals.
If you live within a ten-mile radius or drivable (or walkable) distance of the farm in Llansteffan, we think we can help! Not only is the food we produce the healthiest you can get, grown in living soil and harvested fresh, but it’s also the ideal foundation for your 2026 fitness goals.
Studies by the Soil Association and Public Health England indicate that organic foods generally contain lower pesticide residues and, in some cases, higher levels of beneficial antioxidants, supporting long-term health and recovery. Buying local also means fresher, seasonal produce, which can retain more nutrients and encourages higher fruit and vegetable intake — a key factor in maintaining energy levels, supporting fitness, and managing weight. There is mounting evidence, too, that food grown in balanced, microbe-rich, living soil is better for our gut - which really is where all health comes from. 70% of the immune system is connected to the gut, supporting microbial diversity through whole, organically grown, soil-rich foods may help protect against chronic conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, allergies and inflammatory diseases — reinforcing the idea that soil health, gut health and human health are closely connected.
Fresher, locally produced foods often retain higher levels of key micronutrients such as vitamin C, iron and polyphenols, which are important for energy metabolism, immune function and reducing exercise-induced oxidative stress. Organic produce typically has lower pesticide residues and, in some cases, higher antioxidant content, which may support recovery and reduce inflammation after training. Eating seasonally and locally also encourages a more varied, whole-food diet, helping you meet protein, carbohydrate and micronutrient needs consistently — supporting sustained energy, muscle repair and long-term fitness rather than short-term performance spikes.
How can I eat healthy, organically-grown produce from Lords Park farm?
Sign up for a weekly veg box
If you live within a ten-mile radius of the farm or close enough to one of our pick-up hubs (Carmarthen, Laugharne), then you could join us as a member of our community-supported veg box scheme. Every Friday, all year round, we share our harvest with our members throughout the town, villages and rolling hills between the Taf and Tywi rivers in Carmarthenshire. They are as fresh as it gets, hyper-seasonal, plastic-free and grown with nature, with love and in the spirit of community. As well as the core staples you’d expect - potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic etc - they are also packed with fresh and nutrient-dense greens, salads and some of the weird, wonderful and health-giving vegetables that we grow and you can’t get in a shop.
CREDIT: Jason Taylor - The Source Image
2. Visit our honesty farm shop
If you live locally, or are a regular walker through the farm on the Wales Coast Path, we’d encourage you to drop in to our honesty farm shop. Easy, convenient and self-service, it’s always stocked with the full range of vegetables that are seasonal to Wales and our local climate and growing season. You can also pick up a bottle of our community apple juice, local, regenerative eggs, honey and other organic products like mushrooms and fruits. The farm shop also has a tea and coffee station where, for a donation, you can pick up a warming brew on your way around the Wharley loop walk, or whilst picking up your weekly groceries. The farm shop is open from 8am until 8pm 7 days a week - even more convenient than Tesco!
#2 - Support local farmers and your local farm
In 2025, the struggles of farmers, and the realities of producing food and making a living from it were brought into the spotlight by farmers’ protests up and down the country and across Europe and the world. Suddenly, yellow signs inscribed with ‘No Farmers. No Food’ were appearing everywhere, and farmers mobilised to call for better prices, better government support and to remind us all how we depend on farmers three times a day.
We believe that the best way to tackle the insecurity and inequality in food and farming is Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA). We find strength, resilience and security as farmers in knowing that we have a membership of local people pledged to support the farm, through the highs and lows, successes and failures - who surrender to the Welsh seasons, the realities of producing food without chemicals and working with nature for better soils and greater biodiversity, and who recognise that we cannot do without farmers.
That’s why we have set up our Farm Supporter programme. So even if you can’t commit to a veg box membership, or to visit our shop, you can support what we are doing here on the farm with just a few pounds a month. Think of it like a Patreon for the farm - a way for you to support agroecological, regenerative farming, a secure, affordable supply of food, community building and tree planting. In exchange for your pledge of support, we’ll plant a tree in our Community Orchards in your name or the name of a loved one.
We are not only working to produce a reliable, local and agroecological supply of local food, but also to preserve this historical farm, part of the Llansteffan landscape and the stories of the families that have lived here since at least the 13th century, to create habitat and nature-rich meadows, to be a hub for the community and a meeting place for a congregation of people gathered around a love of the place and the instinct to protect it. We are offering access to healthy food, nature and the countryside in radical and unprecedented ways, inviting our community to be a part of this farm and the realisation of our vision, working every day to break down barriers to getting involved.
Our mission is clear and ambitious. With your help we can realise it - and protect livelihoods and ways of life, create jobs and put food on peoples’ tables. With your help we can restore this farm to its rightful place at the heart of culture and community.
#3 - Plant trees
Community tree planting in 2025 (CREDIT: Jason Elberts, A Great Alternative)
For some of you, you may have made the intention or commitment to do more in 2026 to help the planet or your local environment. What more positive act to take in the early months of the year than planting trees? Tree planting has so many benefits for soil, air, water and biodiversity and can play a key role in a sustainable, resilient and secure food and farming system - they create habitats and food sources for wildlife, secure the soil and help store water, sequester carbon in the soil where it belongs and create vital shade for animals, vegetables and humans alike! In 2026, we are extending our Community Orchards, building on our 60-tree apple and pear orchard with a brand new Community Nut Orchard.
We’ll be planting cobnuts, walnuts and sweet chestnuts, as well as cherries, plums and damsons this year. Join us for our first monthly Community Farm day of the year on Saturday 7th February 2026, for our big annual community tree planting! Find out more and sign up FREE here.
#4 - Wellbeing and nature connection
Winter can be a hard time, and the New Year comes with pressures and struggles. If you, like us, have made the New Year’s resolution to spend more time outside, in nature and interacting with the living world, then we might be able to help. Everything we do at Glasbren its about inching closer to a rich and living relationship food, nature and the land, both for the positive action and purpose it inspires, but also because it has a profound and lasting effect on the health and wellbeing of us all.
UK research consistently shows that spending time in nature — and especially actively engaging with it — has measurable benefits for mental health and wellbeing. A large body of evidence reviewed in systematic studies finds that nature-based activities like green exercise, gardening or woodland walks can improve mood, reduce anxiety and depressive symptoms, and boost positive affect (happiness and wellbeing).
The University of Derby’s Nature Connectedness Research Group shows that people who feel more psychologically connected to the natural world report higher wellbeing and personal growth, and that engagement with nature through activities or noticing wildlife increases happiness and a sense of a worthwhile life. Coventry University research also found that outdoor and nature-based activities, such as horticulture and multisensory garden experiences, can enhance emotional wellbeing, reduce depressive symptoms and improve quality of life in community and care settings.
Volunteering at Glasbren
We have seen first hand evidence of the above over six years of welcoming volunteers to the land. We’ve seen the transformative effect of time in nature, practical engagement with soil and plants and learning new skills in a safe, welcoming environment of no-duress. A study carrried out by Cara Bowen of the University of Wales Trinity St.David found that in addition to mental health and wellbeing benefits, volunteers also found hope, meaning and a sense of positive purpose in troubled times.
There are so many benefits of volunteering - you can support local farming, food growing and positive action for the environment, whilst boosting your wellbeing, health, skillset and relationships in the beautiful setting of Lords Park farm. Join us every Thursday for our weekly volunteer day, or on our monthly Community Farm day, on the first Saturday of each month.
Nature connection sessions this Spring
There’s a beautiful phrase in the Welsh language, ‘Dod yn ôl at Fy Nghoed’. Literally, it translates as ‘coming back to my trees’, but in its deeper meaning, carries something like ‘returning to a balanced state of mind’ - a return to a grounded and natural state of being, often found through connecting with nature, finding inner peace, and healing mental well-being. It's a call to step away from imbalance and reconnect with the restorative power of the wild, finding solace in in the sound of birdsong, fresh air, and the earth.
This Spring, just as the land is bursting with new life and at its most alive, we have planned an exciting Spring events series, carefully designed to offer different pathways into a deeper relationship with and understanding of the natural world. Each will guide you through the majestic coastal landscape of Lords Park farm from a different perspective and each will be an opportunity to retreat from your daily life, put away your phone, reflect and learn and bathe in the healing balm of nature. They can be booked in series, in a bundle or as individual events. Each will include refreshments and food cooked over the fire and each if offered on a sliding-scale pricing model to make these events as affordable and accessible as possible. Find out more and book a spot below.
Deepen your connection to nature through volunteering, birdsong, Spring foraging or nature-based practices in the majestic landscape of Lords Park farm, Llansteffan (CREDIT: Jason Elberts, A Great Alternative)
#5 Find Your Community
Lords Park farm has become a community hub, a place for local people to gather in a variety of different ways, through the seasons and for a myriad of reasons at a time when we all need it more than ever. So many of us are craving meaningful connection, to find like minded people who care about the things we do, to belong. Glasbren is all about offering a safe, welcoming space for people to gather to take action for the environment, share skills and experience, and forge lasting relationships with others, with the seasons and with the land.
The community that has gathered around Glasbren over the past 6 years is truly unique. It is diverse, kind and welcoming - there is a place for everyone, not matter your life story or how you arrive. We uphold a commitment to safety, inclusion and our core Glasbren values.
Stay up to date on ways to get involved with the community through social media, our seasonal newsletter or, best of all, our WhatsApp community, which includes a ‘News and Updates’ group, a ‘Glasbren Volunteers’ group and a ‘Glasbren Community Inspiration’ group for sharing ideas, articles, videos, tips and for organising outside the Glasbren events programme.
We’ve already released the dates for our 2026 Community Farm days. These really are the best way to experience Glasbren for the the first time. They are always well attended and bring together all ages for a helping hands session in the morning, a bring and share lunch, and then a free taster session or mini-workshop in the afternoon. They are themed around the season and what’s happening in the land or on the farm at that time of year. So in February, it’s be all about trees (COED), but come June, meadows will be the focus (DOLAU) and by October, it’s all about pressing apples (AFALAU)! Sign up free here.
There are our five ways to step into 2026 with purpose - for your health, wellbeing and for taking action for your community and the environment. We would love to welcome you in any of these ways to get involved.
With all this talk of good intentions and new year’s resolutions, though, we will leave you with this - Remember, though the new calendar year has dawned, it’s still deep winter. It’s a few weeks until Imbolc and the coming of Spring and the land isn’t stirring yet. Go easy on yourself. Resist the call to get all motivated and such if it doesn’t feel right. This might not be the time for energetic resolutions or running into the new year. Maybe you, like the land, still have some resting to do.
We’ll be here for you when you are ready.
Blwyddyn Newydd dda i chi gyd.
