Farms for City Children: A Perfect Partnership
The Worshipful Company of Butchers has selected Farms for City Children as one of its nominated charities for the three year period 2023-2025.
“Young people cannot care about what they don’t know, or connect with, and so Farms for City Children plays an essential role in showing children and young people, some on the edge of care, that they can connect powerfully to the natural world, to the provenance of the food they eat and to see their future in living and working in the countryside”.
Whar's it all about?
Founded by Sir Michael and Lady Clare Morpurgo, the charity offers children from disadvantaged communities the opportunity to experience an immersive residential week on a farm in the heart of the countryside.
Since it began almost 50 years ago, more than 100,000 children have spent time tending and feeding livestock, learning about how their food is produced right along the supply chain, and spending time outside in an environment that they may otherwise never have experienced.
The experience builds self-esteem and resilience as young people communicate and work together to develop new and transferable life skills and enjoy fresh air, nutritious food, meaningful activities and wellbeing support to enhance their health, happiness and engagement.
Donna explained: “Many of the young people who visit our farms face challenging circumstances; they may not be in full time education, and some are living on the edge of care. Spending time at one of our three farms can have a transformative impact on them.
All Liverymen are welcome to come and visit any of our three farms and find out more about how we can connect young people with the field > farm > fork chain, learning how their meat and food is produced and delivered to their plate.”
The Farms
Nethercott House, Devon
Nethercott House sits just outside the pretty Devonshire village of Iddesleigh with views to the high tors of Dartmoor National Park. Nestled deep in the countryside that inspired founder Sir Michael Morpurgo to write the novel War Horse, Nethercott House is a Victorian manor with wide sweeping lawns, steeply banked lanes, and ancient hedgerows that lead down to the River Torridge.
Nethercott House accommodates up to 39 children and 5 adults.
Wick Court, Gloucestershire
Wick Court is an impressive Elizabethan moated property once used as a hunting lodge by the nearby Lords of Berkeley and rumoured to have hosted Elizabeth I. The majestic house looks out across idyllic pastures to the reed beds of the river Severn – a view that has changed little since the first recorded farmstead stood on this land in the middle ages.
Wick Court accommodates up to 36 children and 5 adults.
Lower Treginnis, Pembrokeshire
Lower Treginnis farm sits on the stunningly beautiful site of a 700 year-old farmstead and is the most westerly farm in Wales. Situated on the peninsular just outside of St David’s – the UK’s smallest city – Lower Treginnis provides visitors with an incredible mix of traditional Welsh sheep farming and direct access to the beautiful beaches of the Pembrokeshire National Park.
Lower Treginnis accommodates up to 39 children and 6 adults.
Muck, Magic and Outdoor Education
So many children have never been in the countryside, have zero experience of livestock and have never seen a night sky with stars in it. On the charity’s farms, they get to see animals giving birth, work with them, feed them, take responsibility for their welfare, and discover how meat enters the food chain.
There are pigs and poultry to feed, eggs to collect, heritage breed cattle, sheep and lambs to check on, ponies and donkeys to groom, as well as orchards and large kitchen gardens that need to be tended.
There are no pick-and-mix activity options; the work is practical and purposeful, and we need everyone’s help to ensure that the livestock, produce, and land is well looked after.
One thing you won’t find at any of the farms is a television! We are proudly screen-free and strongly encourage all our visitors to enjoy an un-plugged week where digital addictions are swapped for analogue adventures!
It’s just magic!
If you think you can help, want to visit the farms, can donate any butchery sundries or would just like more information about Farms for City Children please contact Liveryman Pamela Brook pamela_brook@hotmail.com or donna@farmsforcitychildren.org