With news of a historic moment in the story of Jamie’s Farm, Lewes, who better to tell it than our Head of Farm, Sam Maynard.
A Sussex boy through and through, Sam is a humble and inspiring leader of the farm. With a farmer father and teacher mother, he embodies the dual tenets of agriculture and education at the heart of the charity. And having taught for many years within successful schools in London, we were delighted when three years ago he returned to his rural roots to take the reins at Jamie’s Farm, Lewes.
In the below, Sam shares his thoughts and feelings about why this moment really matters; to him, to the land we steward, to the local community, and most importantly, to the young people we serve each and every week.
Allington Farm, the first Jamie’s Farm site in the South-East, has always hummed with potential. From the beautiful Grade II listed farmhouse to the stunning views of the South Downs, it is a perfect setting to welcome young people from across the region to spend a week immersed in farming life. Having leased the site for the past six years from our generous landlords the Allington Trust, it is wonderful to have taken full ownership of the farm and to be able to look to the future with confidence. We’re immensely grateful to all our supporters for making this ambitious dream a reality.
In particular, we wish to recognise the transformative contribution of the Fonthill Foundation as Lead Funders, as well as the pioneering social investment from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. We have built deep and trusting relationships with both these partners, and we are especially pleased that by cementing our presence in Sussex for the long term, we will continue to undertake the therapeutic and purposeful outdoor education that was such a core part of the original ethos of Fonthill Lodge School, from where the Foundation’s endowment has come.
In many ways, it was fitting that this momentous change came about almost unnoticed, while our programme with young people continued as it does every single week. There were no fireworks, no popping of corks – we celebrated with a slice of chocolate cake (made, of course, by our young visitors) before heading out for an evening walk in the woods. Life at Allington Farm went on just as it has for the past six years that Jamie’s Farm has been in residence, with the experience of the young people taking part in our programme always at the forefront of our minds. But of course, for all of us at Jamie’s Farm Lewes, taking full ownership of our site signals a profound change.
It means that we can really begin to realise the potential that we have always seen in the farm; we are now firmly rooted in this location, and can develop in ways which will both improve our already high standards of farming, and allow more and better experiences for our young visitors.
When Jamie’s Farm took over this site and opened our doors to visiting groups back in 2019, the farm was a very different place, with manifold challenges to overcome. For many years, the farm had been intensively farmed for arable crops, and needed significant work to develop it into a space where we could not only host meaningful visits for young people, but also provide the high standards of animal welfare and care for the land that characterise the Jamie’s Farm approach. Our Farm Managers, first Eddie Olphert and now Charlotte Streeter, have put endless hours into making the site work, whether planting miles of new hedges, sowing herbal leys, or finding innovative ways to make use of the existing, and somewhat dilapidated, farm buildings to house sheep and cattle.
Taking ownership of the site, though, means a step change in the way that we can farm here. We already have plans to replace our old barns with facilities that allow for excellent animal welfare and prioritise safe access for young people, allowing our visiting groups to get much closer up to our animals, especially our cattle, than is currently possible. We are excited to develop our facilities for horses to allow our equine specialist the chance to truly realise the therapeutic potential of this strand of our work. Out on the farm itself, we are committed to farming in a truly regenerative spirit, working hard to increase soil health and biodiversity, which will in turn bring its own rewards in the health of our livestock. We aim to continue to transform the farm into a site fit for the future, with sustainability at its heart, which we can proudly showcase to our young visitors.
Our programme with young people will also see some hugely positive changes. Each week, we already see the impact of the Jamie’s Farm programme first-hand. Young people who have never spoken at school find their voices here. Others overcome physical challenges that they didn’t think possible. Many more find a sense of purpose, of being valued for who they are – something we were all reminded of at our recent Open Day when we were greeted by countless young people who had been through the programme and wanted to share it with family and friends.
We’ve now welcomed over 2,000 young people to the Lewes farm since 2019, both from our local area, from across the Southeast, from London and beyond. It’s a special place, not only to us, but to many of the young people we have worked with – a safe space where they can push themselves out of their comfort zone. Being able to develop the site for the future will allow us to further deepen and strengthen our work, opening up more physical space to work with more young people, in an even more meaningful way.
The certain knowledge that Jamie’s Farm will be in residence in Sussex for the long term will also allow us to continue to build community links here. Perhaps our most impactful visits are those from schools from our local area, and it is wonderful to be able to strengthen our connections with a long-term perspective. It means that we can look forward to meeting more young people like Riley, who first came to the farm as a 14 year old as part of an East Sussex group in 2020, and ended up as our apprentice and one of our youth champions and a wonderful ambassador for our work – a true Jamie’s Farm success story. We know that there are many more Rileys out there – owning Allington Farm means we will get the chance to meet even more of them.
Fundamentally, Jamie’s Farm is about giving young people a place to belong and the space to thrive. We are extremely fortunate to be able to welcome people to a beautiful location, where we hope they will find both of those things. Buying Allington Farm means that we have confirmed what we already knew – we belong here, and we intend to thrive in this space for many years to come.
