Nature-lovers in Shepton Mallet are being invited to dig out their spades and join The Food Forest Project's latest planting event being held later this month.

The project, which works to help combat mental health issues through planting food forests, will be at Rock Farm, off the Windsor Hill Lane end of Ham Lane, on Saturday, March 21.

Project founder and town councillor Tristan Faith told Shepton Mallet Nub News: "The food forest planting is being held on the first day of spring.

"There will be around 1,500 trees and shrubs to plant, an equal mix of fruit trees for the food forest and native trees and shrubs around the estate boundary to create wildlife habitats. It promises to be a really magic event and a wonderful way to welcome spring."

The planting event runs from 10am to 4pm and volunteers - who should bring a spade if they have one and wear warm, weather-proof clothing and wellies - are welcome to stay and help for as long as they like.

There will be a shepherd's hut and two marquees on the site serving hot drinks and locally-made cakes for a small donation - plus plenty of parking space.

More planting will take place in stages and the Rock Farm food forest will take several years to mature before the community will be invited to organised foraging days to harvest produce.

"Once fully planted, the food forest will yield a variety of organic fruits, vegetables, herbs and nuts at no cost, but with all the fun and excitement of foraging for your own food," said Tristan.

"We hope that by bringing people into a safe and natural space where they can be among wildlife, and harvest their own high nutrition food we can heal some of the loneliness and mental health issues that pervade much of society today."

An Education and Well-Being Centre is also being built at the site - funded by a £2,500 grant from Somerset Community Foundation - and is scheduled to open in late summer.

This is the second The Food Forest Project planting in Shepton Mallet. The first, in March last year, saw around 100 volunteers plant some 1,000 trees and shrubs on land off Old Wells Road and several months later a wild pond was created.