Martinique Farm, Wolfscastle, Christmas trees raise charity cash

For the past 18 years David Clark at Martinique Farm, Wolfscastle has been growing and selling Christmas trees. What is unique about Mr Clark's enterprise is that all the money he raises goes to charity.

This year more than £4,100 has been generated through the sale of around 137 trees.

Mr Clark began growing Christmas trees at his farm as an experiment to see if they could be grown in certain conditions.

For hundreds of Pembrokeshire families, a trip to choose their Christmas tree while it is still growing in the field at Martinique Farm has become an important Christmas tradition, one that has been even more important during this Covid Christmas.

"People have said that it's the first bit of normality they have had in the run up to Christmas," said Mr Clark.

"A lot of people like coming here to buy their Christmas trees. There's so much space here is ideal for social distancing, nobody needs to be on top of each other.

"It has been busier this year; we've made more money than we did last year and the trees cost the same so we must have been busier."

As with previous years all the money raised from the sale of the trees will go to charity. In the past donations have been made to the VC Gallery, the DPJ Foundation, Wings over Pembrokeshire, the Wales Air Ambulance, Tinker's Hill bird of prey sanctuary and Paul Sartori.

Mr Clark also donates to a grassroots charity which supports small scale community enterprise in developing countries, meaning the Wolfscastle trees are helping communities all over the world to grow.

"People ask why I do it, I can't really answer why," said Mr Clark. "At the end of the day it's because I can.

"As long as I've got a roof over my head and can keep myself warm and clean and my clothes clean. At the end of the day shrouds don't have pockets.

"I've always just tried to help people that's the end of the story really. I have always done it and never questioned why I do it."