‘Let’s see what we can do’: the market garden in a rewilding project

John Hexall and Lisa Sture, the new tenants on the land, are establishing a 2-hectare market garden across three fields at Pentwyn.
Photograph: Alexander Turner/The Guardian

When Pentwyn, a 65-hectare (164-acre) sheep farm, was bought by Radnorshire Wildlife Trust, the charity faced the familiar charge that it would be sacrificing good food-producing land for rewilding.

But the trust deftly disabled such criticism by setting up a 2-hectare (5-acre) market garden that will provide a livelihood for a local couple and produce more food for local people than the conventional farm did.