There are many areas in Devon that don’t get talked about as much as others, especially the further afield you go. Moretonhampstead is one such small town with a great sense of togetherness that can be seen through its thriving arts and crafts scene and the efforts of its residents to connect each other through community initiatives. That’s why we’d like to shine the spotlight on Wellmoor.
Wellmoor is the Health and Wellbeing strand of the Moretonhampstead Development Trust, and has aided the town by working closely with the community and making its strengths even stronger. From its community allotment project that encourages volunteers to get out and about and spread the knowledge of growing food, to offering free strength and balance classes to its older residents, Wellmoor has a lot to offer.
Camilla Rooney, the Wellmoor Coordinator, was kind enough to speak to us about the various projects she has managed since her time overseeing the charity and its team, and how they have positively impacted Moretonhampstead’s community.
What led you to become the Wellmoor Coordinator?
I had just finished a Masters in Historic Building Conservation in Bristol and my dissertation about community-led regeneration projects in rural Transylvania. My Devonian partner and I had been through Moretonhampstead a few times and got a really strong sense of a welcoming community, so we moved there without any plans.
I saw a poster advertising the role of working within Wellmoor, so I applied and got the job within a month of moving to Moretonhampstead! Since then, it’s obviously massively changed my experience of living here. Straight away I was involved in community initiatives, which was great.
How do you respond to the needs of the Moretonhampstead community?
Our tagline is Whole Community Wellbeing. We offer opportunities for socialising, day trips, digital befriending, and more recent projects such as volunteering at the community allotment and attending our Friendly Fridays, which serves as a warm hub for people who may be off of mains gas.
There’s a lot of challenges and barriers in a rural community, such as transport, an aging community, and being far away from a lot of services, but as a result, people have a strong motivation to grow things themselves here. Since then, we’ve tried to build on the strengths of communities and create links rather than feeling like we’re filling in gaps.
What has been the local impact of Wellmoor’s various programmes?
Our impact tends to come from really amazing case studies of people we’ve helped. There was one person who is a regular volunteer at our community allotment, who we’ve been able to refer to financial support. He’s a carer for a family member and we managed to get him a slow cooker to make soup at home rather than buying ready meals.
It doesn’t take one event or one project, sometimes it can take many projects or interactions to make the impact. It’s working with a small community like this that we’re able to really support people.
What have been the difficulties of coordinating Wellmoor?
Lots of projects often feel like spinning plates, which has been the challenge of my role. However, we’re lucky that we’ve got a strong and supportive team to ensure that we can maintain momentum.
One of our other challenges is always reaching people because we have a self-selected group. People may be connected on the internet, but we’re always conscious that others aren’t reaching because they don’t have access, time, confidence or transport, so we’re always trying to think about how we can make new links to the community, especially men as more women tend to join our activities.
Another challenge is longevity, keeping our projects long enough that somebody will access it. It doesn’t necessarily work for everyone if it’s a six-month or even a six-week project; those relationships take a long time to grow.
What are your future aspirations for Wellmoor?
We’re starting up a community shed based on the Men in Sheds model where those who tend to be retired men want to do practical activities, but we’ve been really clear about creating an accessible space to everybody. Community sheds may serve as a good opportunity for volunteers to start more conversations about other parts of their lives. It’s easier to talk to someone when you’re shoulder to shoulder since you’re focusing on an activity together.
Similarly, we’re going to be celebrating the 100 Years of Moretonhampstead Carnival next year by doing lots of health and well-being activities such as working with the Memory Cafe and holding arts and music workshops with the school.
Have you got any advice for anyone wanting to start a community interest company or charity?
One of the crucial things about a good Trust is to make sure you’ve got some really engaged Trustees. This can be challenging as people move on and have to live their own lives, but without their passion and enthusiasm, such as from our Trustee Richard Foxwell, we wouldn’t be able to accomplish anything near what we do now. He basically puts in 40 hours work weeks for free.
In terms of working for a Trust, some of the people we’ve employed have started out as volunteers who have become so indispensable that we’ve taken them on as staff, so that’s quite a good route.
The School For Social Entrepreneurs is extremely good for people who have a seed of an idea. I know someone who has set up a CIC after attending one of their courses. They offer scholarship programmes where you have a lot of peer support where they help you grow your idea, which is a great local asset for us.
What has been your favourite project to work on in Wellmoor?
I love getting involved in the research. The first project I delivered was research on The Loneliness Project, where we went to communities in Moretonhampstead, Chagford, and rural parishes to ask people what we could do to improve people’s connectedness.
Even though it was five years ago, the findings are still relevant and the groups we identified as being particularly at risk of loneliness are still the same. It’s really encouraging to hear when others are having the same problems or to be inspired that other communities have found.