In August we welcomed some wonderful young people from across the world through our partnerships with Hackney Virtual School, Baobab Survivors and West Sussex Council. Highlights during these special weeks included: moving our lambs to the next cells on our rich herbal leys pasture; creating delicious meals to share (including our first Vietnamese Pho and Afghan Biryani); carving beautiful wooden spatulas; completing our orchard project (all the fruit trees are now protected with metal cages); and breaking the record for climbing The Skirrid!
Our final week of the academic year was shared with a lovely group of children from Dorset Virtual School. As well as being busy farmers, they enjoyed exploring the forest and hunting down blackberries, which they turned into a yummy crumble.
The kitchen has also benefitted from fresh milk from our Jersey cow and calf, collected from the Bath farm. The new additions have settled in very well and are a credit to the care and attention provided by the Bath team. Our pork is also back on the menu at the farm and within the community, as our pigs have been selling well to a local butcher. There still hasn’t been enough of a break in the Wye Valley microclimate to make any hay, but the mower is at the ready, if the rain ever stops!
Away from the farm, we were thrilled to be chosen as the Chairman’s Charity for the Monmouthshire Show. We enjoyed a day sharing our passion for what we do at the farm and talking about the young people we’re privileged to work with each week. A big thanks to Claire and Ellie (plus Timmy the horse!) for volunteering their time at our stand, and to all those that came to say hello.
