Welcome to CCBS

In 1994, Professor Martin and Mrs Ann Wolfe established probably the most diverse, and one of the earliest, organic agroforestry sites in the UK (and indeed Europe) on 23 hectares at Wakelyns in Suffolk.

They planted different examples of agroforestry as a long-term agroforestry trial/demonstration project. Many farmers, land managers and policy makers visited (and still visit).

Most agroforestry planting in the UK (at least) has since been inspired by Wakelyns. Research collaborations were established.

With it now being UK Government policy for 10% of UK farmland to be agroforestry by 2050 (to help tackle the climate crisis), the longevity of the Wakelyns agroforestry makes it an important national asset.

Following Ann and Martin’s deaths in 2016/2019, David Wolfe and his brother now own Wakelyns, and he, an and his wife Amanda now run it.

They have evolved the project, adding a much wider, community, dimension, hosting “stacked enterprises” (land-based microbusinesses around growing, food, nature, craft and community outreach), community events, courses, accommodation, and visits.

They are proud that Wakelyns is now regarded as a European beacon of a new approach to how land can be used in the public interest, not just to provide good quality food, but also to promote nature, help tackle the climate crisis and involve people and community at every stage (with lots of people living, working and visiting here).

Wakelyns receives many visitors. In the course of a few days in April 2026, for example, 37 Dutch farmers and policy-makers interested in agroforestry visited, 34 artists and architects from London, and 10 Development Studies students from UEA.

Similarly, research collaborations (including PhD studies) focused on its unique longevity as a diverse agroforestry site.

To secure Wakelyns’ long-term future, they want to move from it being that private (but public facing) project, to community ownership and management.

For that purpose, 14 ‘founder members’ have set up the Wakelyns Charitable Community Benefit Society (CCBS), a charity, which will – they hope – end up owning and running Wakelyns, through a board elected by a large number of community shareholders.

David is happy to gift my half for that purpose. But his brother is not in a position to do that. So, the CCBS needs to raise the money to buy his half, for which it will end up owning the whole thing. If it cannot raise the funds, then it will be necessary to sell most or all of Wakelyns to raise the necessary funds, with the likely result that it will then be lost as a public facing resource.

That needs slightly over £1m (including some funds for working capital etc). That is being done in two phases: for now, the CCBS is directly contacting foundations/trusts and similar, to try and secure relatively larger contributions towards that overall target, aiming to secure most of the funds that way. It has already received pledges.

Then, later in the summer, it will launch a public community share offer, aiming for much smaller (perhaps £100-£10,000) share inputs from lots of people including from our existing 3,000+ newsletter subscribers. They have a very wide range of interests in the project (including food, growing, art, community, nature, and much more). The aim is to have a wide and diverse base of stakeholder/members who will provide the governance foundation which will best maintain the ethos and continuity of the project.

All of that is described in the presentation below. The last few slides include endorsements from some key people. Obviously, there is lots more detail available if wanted.

For more information contact ccbs@wakelyns.co.uk

Wakelyns Proposal-compressedDownload

Colin Tudge, Co-Founder, Oxford Real Farming Conference

"Wakelyns is ... showing in defiance of convention that trees, arable, horticulture, livestock, wildlife, and people can co-exist and interact to the advantage of them all.”

Kimberley Bell, baker, Small Food Bakery (Winner, BBC Good Food award)

"Wakelyns Agroforestry is a vital example of the kind of farming we need to secure our future in the UK.”

John Snape, crop genetics researcher and John Innes Centre Emeritus Fellow

"Martin Wolfe was a pioneer of sustainable agriculture and a proponent of sustainable methods of farming well before it became mainstream.  One of his major ideas was to use genetic diversity as a tool for controlling diseases in crops without the need for environmentally damaging sprays. Much valuable research was then, over the years, performed at Wakelyns.The role of Wakelyns in promoting and maintaining the YQ population and Martin's ideas of sustainable agriculture is essential for the future adaptation of farming methods to low input agriculture and buffering populations against climate change.”

Robert Macfarlane, nature writer based in Cambridge

“Wakelyns innovations in population grains and agroforestry - combining tree crops with grain crops and market gardening - are vital for the future of English farming… It is wonderful to think that, through this share offering, Wakelyns should soon be owned by the community and will be able to be run forever for the benefit of that community and of nature, through varied farming methods and flourishing biodiversity”

Chris Packham CBE, environmental campaigner

"Wakelyns is a magical oasis filled with life...a tried and tested alternative to contemporary industrial agriculture”

Josiah Meldrum, co-founder Hodmedods

For more than 30 years Wakelyns has been an inspirational model for agricultural change in the UK. Demonstrating through research and practice that a diverse, complex farmed landscape is not only ecologically, economically and socially viable right now, but the only approach that offers future hope in the face of climate chaos and collapsing biodiversity. I feel fortunate to have watched, been involved with, and to have been shaped by that work for 25 years. I could name dozens of farms changed for the better through a visit to Wakelyns, and I know hundreds more have been transformed by the research and advocacy Wakelyns has supported and inspired. I'm really excited about this next phase, where Wakelyns' ownership moves to the community it has built to continue its pioneering and critically important work.

Sheila Das, Head of Gardens and Parks, National Trust

“Wakelyns offers an incredible resource that extends learning far beyond its local reach and also transcends industry boundaries. Whilst the work carried out at Wakelyns speaks deeply to the agricultural community, those of us working in horticulture in garden settings (including growing food at garden scale) have really benefitted from visits to Wakelyns and been inspired by the overall agroecological approach which can directly transfer to any form of gardening. It is this broad reaching value of Wakelyns that makes it worthy of support for future learning and inspiration towards a more harmonious and nature friendly way of working with our land, whatever the context. I couldn’t be more supportive of this campaign.”

Jo Smith, Senior Researcher, MV Agroecology Research Centre, Portugal and Associate Editor, Agroforestry Systems

"Having been involved in agroforestry research for over 15 years in both the UK and Europe-wide, I can't over-emphasize the importance of Wakelyns as a mature and unique silvoarable system that demonstrates a number of practices ranging from alley cropping short rotation coppice to timber and fruit production. Such sites are incredibly rare across Europe. Over the years, I have collected data from Wakelyns on everything from tree yields, energy use and production, economics, crop and ley growth, pests and diseases, through to biodiversity both below and above ground. While other UK long term agroforestry research sites have been sold off or removed, it is so important that Wakelyns continues as a functioning farm, not only providing a research site but also an inspiration to students and researchers".

Lucy Maclennan, Director, Organic Research Centre

“The Organic Research Centre has worked closely with Wakelyns since the 1990s, and over that time our businesses have formed a strong mutual bond. Our work celebrates and builds upon the work of Martin and Ann Wolfe in researching how to achieve sustainable and resilient agriculture and spans everything from the role of agroforestry systems in enhancing biodiversity through to the evolution of the YQ ORC Wakelyns population wheat. The importance of Wakelyns as the leading agroforestry research site in the UK cannot be underestimated and we are delighted to offer our support to the Wakelyns Charitable Community Benefit Society in order to secure its future and the vital role that it plays in British agriculture”.

Andy Dibben, market gardener & author of Silva-Horticulture

"The science and farming research at Wakelyns has been pivotal in helping shape future farming system thinking”

Stephen Briggs, organic farmer/adviser  & AHDB Vice Chairman

"Wakelyns has been an invaluable source of inspiration and knowledge to practitioners, academics and policymakers.”

Mark Avery, environmental campaigner and writer

“I've grown to love Wakelyns over recent years, partly because I have come to realise its importance in demonstrating an unfamiliar farming regime, partly because all involved seem such lovely people but also because I can wake there, in summer, and hear the now rare sound of singing Turtle Doves. For all these reasons and more I support this campaign.”

Fred Price, Gothelney Hall Farm – Agroecological Farmer

As a grain nerd, Wakelyns is synonymous with Martin Wolfe & YQ wheat - both ambassadors for diversity, pioneers and bridge-builders in equal measure, radical interrogators of our incumbent food system. How many journeys started here, or passed through here? What solidarity was built on shared memories of this place? I've come to realise that systems change is a messy, nonlinear, even fragile business. So retaining Wakelyns as a kind of anchor, a critical piece of our movement's infrastructure, is surely an essential step towards an agroecological future.