The team at Jamie’s Farm were delighted to announce the purchase of a sixth rural farm back in August. Lower Shockerwick Farm will boost our capacity to deliver additional transformative farm stays for young people at risk of social and academic exclusion. The opportunity to develop this farm, nestled within the Box Valley near Bath, offers us a hugely exciting chance to welcome an additional 450 young people to our farms each year, and to make the most of our long-standing partnerships within this area.
With the first of our farms just around the corner, we intend to establish a hub that will not only be accessible to an increased pool of schools and organisations, but that will also act as an exemplary regenerative farm where our transformative programme can change thousands of lives over the coming years.
Meeting a growing need:
Five children in a classroom of 30 are now thought to have a diagnosable mental health condition and one in five are persistently absent from school. With poor mental health comes lower academic attainment and increased absence from school. The new farm will help us meet the growing demand for our therapeutic programme and help ensure more young people are able to access our powerful intervention.
What’s the story?
With the passing of a long-time friend of the charity, David Goulstone, the purchase of the farm on which he had lived had been agreed. It was here that David shared his love of farming with Jamie Feilden, who would go on to co-found our charity at neighboring Hill House Farm. David’s legacy now leads to thousands of young people’s fulfilment through the enjoyment of his beautiful farm.
With the purchase of Shockerwick and its 200 acres of meadows and pasture, the two farms have now joined.
Boosting our Impact
Above all, the development of Lower Shockwerwick Farm offers a fantastic opportunity to expand our capacity to deliver our proven therapeutic intervention to a further 450 young people each year. This is a 25% boost to our existing residential capacity.
A two-hour drive from Bath covers a radius of approximately 100 miles from Lower Shockerwick Farm. There are 1,654 secondary schools within this distance from Bath, and so within easy reach of a residential visit to Shockerwick. This number of schools represents 49% of all secondary schools in England, highlighting the huge potential catchment area.
Our existing Wiltshire Farm, Hill House Farm, already faces a lot of unsatisfied demand for visits from our partner organisations from Bath & North-East Somerset, Wiltshire and London. This promising development will help us meet the needs of such demand.
A word from Jamie Feilden, Co-Founder and Co-CEO at Jamie’s Farm
“The purchase of Lower Shockerwick Farm is a dream come true for Jamie’s Farm. It is an incredible opportunity to expand our capacity and better meet the growing need for our proven therapeutic intervention, at a time when young people are facing some of the toughest challenges in decades.
The farm has a sense of beauty, history and family and with sensitive redevelopment of the land and buildings, we will bring it to life with children and animals. We are excited to open up these ancient doors to an additional 450 children a year.
The previous owners, friends and neighbours, greatly believe in the work of Jamie’s Farm. Our Cattle and sheep have been making the land their home for a number of years already and we are delighted to be able to extend our regenerative farming practices across the site, and – with the help of our visiting young people – work to improve the biodiversity of the environment through woodland and river management.
We will plant hedges, regenerate pastures and produce quality grass fed beef and lamb. We are currently fundraising for the redevelopment and are very grateful for the individuals and trusts who are already helping to fund the project, and to all those that are looking to donate.”
