In May, we have had a real range of visits on the farm from some of our most loyal and longstanding partners. At the start of the month, we were lucky enough to host a Year 7 group from Carew Academy for their first ever Jamie’s Farm week, these are always really enjoyable and special weeks and we felt very lucky to give these young people their first Jamie’s Farm experience. We’ll look forward to seeing more of them in the coming years.
We also welcomed back Oasis Academy Shirley Park along with their Year 7 Bertha Earth young leaders, for a week of hard work and joy, with a real focus on care for the environment. We also had a fabulous visit from a small group from Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Virtual School, a week which really enabled us to get to know the wonderful young people and to get a lot done in preparation for our Open Day.
Finally, we welcomed a group of young people from East Sussex Virtual School, who came to us from all over the world. Our tummies are still full from all of the fabulous food we cooked in the week
All of the Jamie’s Farm Lewes team have been out visiting schools this month. Sam and Felix popped in to see the wonderful young people of Warlingham, while Charlotte went to visit Heathside School and Clare and Katie visited Carew Academy, complete with an unexpected visit to the circus! We always love seeing young people that we have worked with back in their normal settings and to really get to experience what school is like for them. It reminds us of the value of the work we do every day and of the incredibly hard work of the teachers who come to visit us.
It was fantastic at a recent school visit to hear a young person reflect on how much he valued the routine and structure of his time at the farm. This is a hugely important part of our programme, and for many of our young people having a regular bedtime, sleep pattern and meal structure can be a big change. We really believe that a great routine is a big part of keeping yourself healthy, happy and ready to thrive, so it was wonderful to hear that this has been helpful to our young visitors.
We’re now in summer mode on the farm, with the barns empty, the animals grazing across the farm, and the garden blooming. Perhaps most excitingly, our wonderful beekeeping volunteer, Ahmed, has captured several swarms and our hives are now buzzing with activity. It’s been fantastic to start working with the bees and to give the visiting young people a chance to don their suits and see them working up close.
We’re very excited at the impending arrival of our newest dairy calf, which will enable us to begin milking for the first time!
We were absolutely delighted to see so many people at our Open Day on the 18th May. The sun shone, there was a lovely buzz on the farm and it was great to catch up with so many old friends as well as new faces exploring our site. We love opening the farm up to visitors, and even though we can only do this occasionally, it’s lovely to see friends, neighbours and supporters enjoying our beautiful space.
