June kicked off with a carousel of 24-hour visits from the lovely young people of Carew Academy. Each group had previously spent a week on one of our farms, and this week was a chance for them to experience a taste of farm life again. There was also an opportunity for reflection as we watched films documenting their week spent at a Jamie’s Farm and the passing on of their certificates.
It was such a pleasure to host Oasis Shirley Park, one of our returning partners. The group particularly enjoyed getting stuck into woodworking projects, taking on the challenge of the hike, and rescuing some bee colonies. Notably, the young people took charge of building an owl box, which has been put up in the barn and is awaiting its first visitors.
We enjoyed a visit from Queen Elizabeth Girls School as part of our Bertha Earth partnership. It was great to welcome such a supportive and curious group of young people. There was lots achieved around the farm, with some great teamwork, including the whole group, with time for some amazing performances during the celebration on Thursday night.
Claire and Jessie headed to Big Leaf Foundation for their graduation, this was a really joyful celebration of a 12-week programme. It was clearly reflected in the speeches how much the young people valued their time at Jamie’s Farm, and it was lovely to catch up with the young people there. Tim and Laura also headed to Big Leaf for a cooking masterclass and to meet up with some of our previous visitors.
Some great news this month as the price of our Jamie’s Farm lambs topped the local market, thanks to our Farm Manager, Charlotte’s incredible work. The penny is about to drop as we eagerly anticipate our Jersey cow giving birth, which will allow us to start adding milking to our morning feeding rounds. Work has begun on building a space for the pasteurising of milk and potentially much more!
The garden is looking beautiful, with loads of fruit and vegetables starting to come into season. Visiting groups have particularly enjoyed the fruit cage, where raspberries, gooseberries and redcurrants all seem to be firm favourites. We also welcomed a visitor from Kew Gardens, who was interested in learning more about Jamie’s Farm.
A massive shout out to Ahmed, our amazing beekeeper! It has been a busy month finishing the apiary, relocating swarms and merging hives. It’s great to see visiting young people kitted our in their bee suits, helping with all things bee-related. Ahmed has been very generous with his time in order to help make this happen, and we are incredibly lucky to have him on the farm.
We’d also like to celebrate Tamara, who joined us for a one-week placement from Bristol University. Tamara was an excellent addition to the team, and fitted in seamlessly with her compassionate approach to working with young people.
