Monthly Archives: June 2019

Volunteer Stories

Dave

Bristol born and bred, Dave has lived most of his life in Lawrence Weston half a mile from the farm.  He started volunteering at the farm some four years ago after losing his job at Bristol Zoo, because he wanted to keep active.  He’d been told about the farm at the local Jobshare office so he walked round, introduced himself and joined the Gardening Club, which meets every Friday.  His first job, he recalls, was helping build the greenhouse where a lot of our potting work goes on.

Since then Dave has proved to be a willing and enthusiastic participant.  The activities of the gardening Club change according to the passing seasons and Dave doesn’t mind what job he’s asked to do.  In fact he says he has no time for people who want to pick and choose.  His father used to grow vegetables in the back garden and Dave liked helping him.  He says he likes growing veg and loves working in the greenhouse planting seeds, potting on and tending the plants.  But Dave is an all-rounder; he enjoys the animals, working in the woodland clearing weeds and brambles, coppicing, pruning, fencing and weaving hurdles, planting trees and splitting logs.

He has also completed two courses at the farm; Woodland Skills and Herbs For Health.  Most of all perhaps, Dave enjoys the camaraderie of the Gardening Club.  He has become a valued and popular member always ready for a laugh and joke.  He says he would miss working at the farm if for any reason he had to stop and I dare say the farm would miss him just as much.

3 people standing in wood
Dave, George and James working hard in the Woodland, carrying out essential woodland maintenance

Volunteer Stories

Emma discovered the farm after Googling ‘farms to volunteer at’. She initially came along to the Woodland Skills course and then stayed on as a regular volunteer.

Emma and her husband would like to set up a regenerative agricultural enterprise, such as pastured poultry, which is where a mobile laying flock follows livestock on a rotation around the land. This builds up soil and absorbs a lot of carbon from the atmosphere – both actions are vital to fight climate change and soil loss.

However, first she wanted to get lots of hands on practical experience of livestock and farming. She loves the variety of animals that she gets to work with, and says that there’s so much you’d never know without first hand experience – such as there’s a right and wrong way to slope a nest box roof! (If it slopes the wrong way, chicken poo will go in the nest box).

Emma really enjoys being outside and with people who are interested in farming. Her favourite aspect of volunteering is the variety of jobs and animals, and the camaraderie with the other volunteers. She really values how much time Ian spends with the volunteers and the knowledge he shares with them. She dislikes – nothing!

In the future Emma would also like to learn about bee keeping.