Following a very wet start to 2024, Spring is in the air at Jamie’s Farm Monmouth with the daffodils blooming, birds singing and the days getting longer.
We started the month welcoming two new Bristol partners to the farm – Merchants Academy and Blaise High School. Highlights included sheep, pig and cow moves and having fun playing games – Guess Who? was the firm favourite! We also enjoyed taking in the beautiful views from The Skirrid.  Â
It was so good to have our long-standing partner The Nobel School back on the farm. As well as being fantastic farmers, the young people were incredibly supportive of each other and displayed an amazing ability to reflect with honesty and openness.
We ended the month welcoming Barnsley College back to the farm. The young people took great care of our animals, worked with amazing determination and frequently filled our Welcome Barn with so much joy through their wonderful singing and dancing.
At Parkwood Academy it was fantastic to catch up with the group of young people we had welcomed to the farm a few weeks back. After watching the films of their time on the farm, answering lots of fantastic farm update questions and having a check in, certificates and postcards were presented. We juggled surveys and making cookies, before watching the film once again! A huge thank you to Andy and Julie. It was lovely to see everyone!
Next stop Coop Woodlands. The rain had stopped and a tour around the school brought an extra buzz to the visit as the young people were spotted in lessons and couldn’t help but wave excitedly! Once we were all together we started our cooking session. This provided a time to go around the group chatting to them individually to see how they were since joining us at the farm. All traces of flour and butter now gone, and somehow not a spare chocolate drop anywhere to be found, we watched the film and presented certificates and postcards before the group heading home with cookies in hand! Thank you for such a lovely visit and thank you to the parents who joined us.
Bay Leadership Academy’s location meant that a sea side walk was a must! After meeting everyone inside and watching the films about their week on the farm, we donned our coats and headed out, despite the fact that the rain had properly set in! We walked along the sea front to St Peter’s Church in Heysham with time to chat to everyone and hear about how things were going for them. A chance also for people to share their memories of the farm. Thank you for such an enjoyable, yet soggy, morning!
Over to Bacup to meet students at Valley Leadership Academy and there were three bubbly previous visitors in reception ready to lead the way! Films watched and a check ins done and out came the board games. Chess, connect4 and farm snap competitions took place and it seemed as if only yesterday we were all sitting around the table in the welcome barn. Postcards and certificates handed out and then a chance to catch up on what’s going on at the farm before the bell sounded to indicate the end of the day! It was wonderful to see you all.
Final stop, Accrington Academy. Everyone was a good inch or two taller than when they were at the farm! Postcards, certificates and the film, as well as ‘our favourite memory’ as the third question in our check in, all helped to bring our week on the farm back to life.
Thank you to all the staff for organising the visits and for being so welcoming and a big thank you to all the Jamie’s Farmers!
Out on the farm, there continues to be lots of work to be done, much of which creates fantastic opportunities for our young people to get involved. We have welcomed more sheep to Monmouth – a small flock of Scottish Mules and work is afoot to prepare for April lambing. Our lowline cattle have ended with bale grazing and are doing well outdoors eating a combination of silage and grass.
We would like to say a big well done and thank you to our very own Ellie, who took part in the recent Bath Half Marathon in support of Jamie’s Farm. We’re so grateful for all of the runners who helped to raise money for our charity. Funds raised go towards such an important cause, ensuring transformative experiences to young people and children who often need it the most.
