the educator mag May 24 (1) - Flipbook - Page 66
If you are a Headteacher looking for that
life-changing, immersive residential
experience for your pupils in the Spring or
Summer term, look no further than a week
of “muck and magic” on one of Farms for
City Children’s stunning heritage farms.
Across the school year, Farms for City Children welcomes young
people between the ages of 8-19, from all regions across England
and Wales, particularly those navigating their childhood in
communities experiencing the highest levels of deprivation and
disadvantage, to enjoy a nature nurturing week of food, farming,
and outdoor learning.
A week on our farms increases a child’s learning and engagement,
enhances their sense of environmental citizenship, and improves
connections between peers and teachers, supporting health
and wellbeing so that children return to school equipped with
transferable life skills that they can use in the classroom and at
home.
A week of meaningful physical tasks delivered outdoors, nutritious
home-cooked food, and a digital de-tox develops resilience, grit
and growth mindset, and boosts a child’s self-esteem, courage, and
confidence.
What can you expect to do on the farms if you bring
your school to visit us between March and July?
As nature awakens from its wintry hibernation, the land buzzes
with activity as Spring heralds’ new life. If you venture to Lower
Treginnis, Pembrokeshire, you will encounter a laboratory of the
natural world waiting to be explored. Our farm, which sits atop the
most stunning coastline, is the perfect spot for birdwatching
peregrines and choughs nesting on the cliffs of Ramsay Island.
Grey seals gather for their annual spring moult on the beach below,
and the land yields leeks and potatoes ready for the children to
harvest and bring into the kitchen for their daily cookery sessions.
3000 lambs will be born in this period, and the children will view
up-close the joy and jeopardy associated with lambing. While the
ewes tend to their lambs, the children also work with goats who
are kidding at this time of year. Our pigs, poultry, and equine need
attention, and there is much to do from mucking out, grooming and
walking the donkeys, and performing maintenance tasks on the
land and buildings.
At our Victorian manor in Devon, Nethercott House, it is time to
open our bee hives for the first time since the autumn. The warmer
weather brings the first sources of pollen and nectar, which in turn
stimulates the brood rearing within our hives, allowing the children
to understand the impact these insects have on our entire
ecosystem. With the field>farm>fork agenda at the core of
everything we do, spring is also the time for our egg count to rise as
the hens produce up to 30 eggs of assorted colours each day to be
collected, dated, and sorted by the children to be used atbreakfast,
for
Yorkshire puddings with our roasts, pancakes, eggy bread, and
cakes.
Heritage breeds are crucial to our mission to connect children to the
provenance of their food. Dartmoor ewes give birth to their lambs,
and our rare breed Ruby Devon cattle are liberated from their winter
sheds onto the fresh pasture. Climbing aboard the tractor and trailer
as the sun rises on crisp mornings, and journeying through windy
Devon lanes to stock check the animals, is a memory that will last a
lifetime. Marvelling at the life in the hedgerows and in our orchards,
inspires children to see themselves as the custodians of the land for
generations to come.
At Wick Court farm, our Elizabethan moated house in
Gloucestershire, our heritage orchards burst into vibrant
scented and colourful blossom on fruit trees blessed just a few
months earlier at our annual Wassail. Our rare species bats, and an
abundance of birds along the River Severn fill the air, and children
relish the chance to immerse themselves in observing. Just like our
other farms, new life comes into being in the form of lambs, piglets,
and chicks, providing some wonderful hands-on activities for the
children and the teachers.
Hard graft, physical labour, and teamwork through authentic
farm tasks is complemented at Wick Court with sessions in the
roundhouse, with willow weaving, storytelling, and eating food
around the open fire. The chance to build dens, play outdoors, and
to enjoy social time away from devices combine to provide a holistic
week that benefits children’s diet, sleeping habits, behaviour, and
engagement.
A week on one of our farms supports the national curriculum,
enrichment programmes, and the school’s provision of PSHE, wellbeing and Citizenship. If a week of “muck and magic” in the Spring
at Farms for City Children sounds just like what your school needs,
please get in touch by calling us on 01392 276381 or visiting our
website www.farmsforcitychildren.org or check out our social
channels: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bQru6bHT7Q
