This month we have welcomed back a long-standing partner of ours, Carew Academy. Jamie’s Farm really values the long-standing relationship with this Academy whose young people bring so much joy to the farm. Highlights included making a delicious apple and plum crumble, pulling up our first parsnip of 2023 and exploring Whitestone Woodlands, Cleddon Falls and Tintern Abbey.
Coop Academy North Manchester, another of our returning schools, did a fantastic job of selecting a really special group of young people who really came together during the week, making new friendships and growing in confidence. We so much appreciated all their hard work and so much admired their positive attitudes and resilience to give things a go, which resulted in an amazing week where teamwork shone through.
Monmouth decided to celebrate Black History month through cooking Jollof rice, Caribbean Jerk Chicken, Callaloo and fried dumplings. Working with our visiting groups, Michelle has created a wonderful bunting in which the young people have had the opportunity to design or draw something that demonstrates their culture. Through doing this, our visiting groups have had the opportunity to try different foods and creatively share their thoughts and feelings.
In the last couple of weeks we have welcomed wonderful young people from across the world with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council and Dorset Council. Highlights included making cricket stumps in our wood sessions and then all coming together for a game of cricket in the rain! The wet, Welsh weather didn’t dampen our spirits – lots of fun was had by all!
During these weeks, we’ve brought these young people together, making them feel part of a community, giving them a sense of belonging and provided them opportunities to have their voices heard and valued.
In August a group of younger children visited Jamie’s Farm Monmouth with the aim of their visit being to gain resilience to help with transitions – such as moving up to secondary school. Bronny really enjoyed meeting up with these lovely young farmers again for an online follow up. All spoke very confidently and were thrilled to relive their success on the farm through watching their highlights film and reading out their certificates. Most of the young farmers remember the hike up The Skirrid as the highlight of their trip.
On a beautiful, sunny day, Elly went to Greenwich to meet up with our visiting group from The John Roan School. It was fantastic to see everyone, catch up, hand out certificates and watch the film of their time on the farm together. Lots of memories shared and everyone had grown at least an inch since we’d seen them!
On to Wood Green next, to meet with some of the group from Haringey Learning Partnership. Set in the wonderful library, we shared our check ins and reminisced about the week we had together at the farm. The film was loved by everyone and, after celebrating everyone’s time by reading out their certificates, we tried out a new game! We are very much looking forward to having The John Roan School and HLP back on the farm!
Jo, our Head of Farm, was recently invited to Cardiff High School because a few of the Jamie’s Farmers were helping to organise and run a Macmillan Coffee Morning. As well as being fantastic chefs during their time on the farm, these young people have continued to bake, and it was great to see them getting involved in this fundraising event with their chocolate brownies, cup cakes and slices of Norwegian Dream Cream cake. Â
We would like to welcome our new housekeepers, Rhi Newland and Marilyn Evans, to the Monmouth Team. They will work with Jane, our Lead Housekeeper, to ensure our properties are maintained to a high-quality standard and are homely environments for our visiting groups and Airbnb guests.
A big thank you and a big well done to Elly and Ellie who took part in the Bath Half Marathon. They both ran a personal best – amazing! We’re all very proud of their achievements. We’re already accepting sign-ups for the next Bath Half in March 2023, where you can run to support our work at Jamie’s Farm. If you’re interested, please contact Laura Crouch, our Fundraising Coordinator: lauracrouch@jamiesfarm.org.uk
