Since our last update, we have had the pleasure of welcoming a number of groups from returning partner schools Hurlingham Academy, Chelsea Academy, Lampton Academy, Carshalton Boys Sport College and this week Bedminster Down School. The highlight for a lot of these young people this month has been spending time with the lambs who have received a lot of care and nurture and have nearly been smuggled back to schools across the country!
Our group from Hurlingham showed incredible teamwork rolling out hay bales and displayed impressive resilience, including on all the walks and completing a tricky sheep move.
The team from Chelsea Academy had loads of fun in the mud and pushed themselves out of their comfort zone to discover lots of new skills, including real leadership potential.
The young people from Lampton Academy showcased practical skills in the outdoors, rose to the challenges placed before them and reflected well on their newfound abilities.
Carshalton brought a wonderful group who stood out for their sense of fun and adventure, their support of each other and their fantastic skills in the kitchen making Swiss roll and tasty burritos!
This week, we welcome the young people of Bedminster Down who have already impressed us with their engagement in activities, their bravery at trying new things – particularly so close to the end of term!
We have also been very privileged to welcome a group from Look UK, a national charity who support visually impaired young people to thrive. It was a fantastic opportunity for the young people to come together and spend the day on the farm making pizzas, cuddling lambs, being creative and connecting with each other.
As always, we have cherished the time we get to spend catching-up with our visitors back in their schools this month, finding out how they have been doing since coming to the farm. Seeing the young people of Harris Academy St John’s Wood back in their element on our urban farm in Waterloo was really special as they immediately got stuck into farm jobs once again, chatting away happily about the changes they had seen in themselves since going back to school.
We have also really enjoyed spending the day in St Bartholomew’s School and Astley Cooper School where we also immersed ourselves in school environments to better understand the daily experiences of pupils and teachers alike. Thank you so much for always welcoming us with such warmth and generosity!
We love being able to welcome young people to a working farm where they experience farming through the seasons, experiencing the changes in the land and animals. It has been very busy with the last of the hedge planting being nearly finished and fencing around the hedges progressing all in aid of creating a wonderful habitat for our local wildlife. The sheep are coming in this week ready for our next lambing and we are excited to once again welcome new life on the farm and share this with lots of young people. Lambs are not the only newcomers to the farm with calving having started and two sets of twins joining us recently.
Our horse work is always a wonderful opportunity for young people to reflect on themselves and how they manage their emotions. One young person identified their goal going back to school as ‘being less Cris’ in reference to our wonderful pony Cris, whose cheeky personality he realised would be difficult to manage in a classroom. It was a real moment for this young person to take on the challenge of meeting himself in pony form to reflect on what he could do differently back in school. The power of horse work at its best!
As always, a lot of our work would not be possible without the help of some amazing individuals who give their time to support us. This has included runners who completed the local event of the Bath Half Marathon. It was a pleasure being able to support them on the day with lots of encouragement and tasty treats. We are extremely grateful to have those bright green T-shirts proudly representing us on the route around Bath – a really big thank you to you all! We have also been fortunate enough to have a wonderful residential volunteer Gracie join us this week, bringing her positivity and enthusiasm to the young people of Bedminster Down. We have really appreciated all her hard work and support particularly as she was doing so whilst also juggling university assignments – a total superstar.
Until next time!
