Katie used to volunteer at Southmead Hospital, helping with the teas and coffees and befriending service. Unfortunately all that stopped with Covid 19. So in November Katie came and volunteered at the farm. She absolutely loves it!
Volunteering at the farm helps with her mental health – she’s made new friends and she loves being outdoors. She loves doing everything from mucking out to grooming goats. There is nothing she dislikes, even the rain. She loves the relaxing pace of working on the farm, and how friendly and welcoming everyone is.
Since starting at the farm, Katie has also joined the Walking Group on Wednesday afternoons, and the Knit and Natter group on Tuesday mornings. She is up for trying anything!
Clive first came to the farm about 5 years ago for a Woodland Wellbeing course. He had been stuck in his flat for 4 years due to ill health, and was feeling pretty despairing. The doctor’s surgery recommended the farm to him, so he came along to Woodland Wellbeing. He absolutely loved it! Clive was very happy to be social with other people again, and he loved being outdoors and enjoyed learning new things.
Clive in the woodland
When Talking Tables began, Clive signed up for the first one. He loved every aspect of Talking Tables – the social side, the cooking, trying out new foods and experimenting. It was a lot of fun. Clive became a lead volunteer for this project and assisted Kerry in the kitchen, helping to serve up some delicious creations.
Clive whipping up an amazing culinary creation
When the Walking Group started up, Clive also joined this. Again, he loved being outdoors and socialising with a great group of people. He also takes part in Herbs for Health as he loves growing plants. He really believes in using fresh produce and how beneficial it is to grow food yourself if possible.
Coming to the farm has massively improved Clive’s life. He says he doesn’t feel shut off anymore. It has also given him the confidence to try other things, for example he has been studying with an on line herbal course. Clive has an allotment, where he grows lots of vegetables. He says that coming to the farm led to a huge improvement in his self esteem and self confidence which helped him take on the role of Site Rep for his allotment site.
The only bit that Clive is not too keen on is when it rains on the walking group – but even then he doesn’t mind too much.
Clive says that the farm is a great place to escape your woes – come down and have a walk around, it can really help you feel better.
Matt and Kim have been volunteering at the farm for a morning a week since September 2018. Matt chose to volunteer at the farm as he likes to move around a lot and have plenty of space. He also felt very welcome at the farm.
Matt really enjoys the routine he gets at the farm and doing the same jobs every week. He was brilliant at cleaning the volunteer cabin and now the cafe area as this where the volunteers can have their breaks socially distanced. He also picks up litter around the farm and in the Community Orchard. HIs favourite job is refilling the wild bird feeders – very important throughout the winter. His least favourite is the poo bin, it’s horrible but needs doing.
Matt always has great fun at the Volunteer Christmas parties, and last year won the Pass The Parcel.
During lockdown the farm was closed to both the public and the volunteers. It has been wonderful to welcome back all our regular volunteers and placements and see everyone again after so many months. I spoke to many of them to ask them what they had got up to during lockdown, and what they were enjoying most about being back at the farm.
Andrew spent lockdown watching TV and playing on his X-Box. He missed the farm a lot and has been very happy seeing everyone again, and working with the animals. Lee loves to be outside and got very restless during lockdown. Now he’s back at the farm he is enjoying having a routine again and working outdoors. Andrea spent most of his time playing with his cat and watching films. He was very bored, but says it’s great to be back and socialising with everyone. It’s great to be working with people again. Pete mostly watched TV and did a bit of gardening. He is enjoying being back and getting some outdoor exercise. He is also really loving seeing the animals, but he is especially enjoying eating our biscuits again!
Michelle didn’t do a lot during lockdown, although she did go for a walk everyday around the back of the farm, which she enjoyed. She was very pleased to see the animals again, and do her favourite job which is collecting the eggs from the chickens and ducks. She much prefers to be volunteering at the farm than being at home doing nothing. Rowan says she survived home schooling by going for family walks and came to really appreciate her local footpaths. However, she is still glad to be back and doing something different outdoors and with the animals and see everyone again too.
We have also started having Corporate Volunteering days again. Recently Wessex Water came and repaired the fencing by the forest garden. These days are essential for farm maintenance.
The overwhelming response of all our volunteers was how much they enjoyed seeing their friends and animals, and to be working outdoors. For our part it has been fantastic to see the farm come to back to life and see everyone again. If you would like to volunteer, or think your workplace would like to take part in a corporate volunteering day, then please contact Ian on ian@lwfarm.org.uk or 01179381128
Sarah moved to Bristol in September because her husband is studying here. She loves animals and the outdoors and needed something to keep her moving and get outside to combat the winter blues. A new friend recommended the farm to her, so she came and had a look around and then applied to be a volunteer as everyone was so friendly.
Sarah now volunteers for two mornings a week. She loves coming to the farm, volunteering has really helped her through the winter in a new city. The best bit is having fun with the other volunteers and meeting new people. She also really loves the goats and chickens.
The worst bit is when it pours with rain and she has forgotten her waterproof trousers.
Sarah says that volunteering at the farm has definitley improved her life and got her out of the house and exercising . She would recommend volunteering as a great way of meeting new people.
It has been a pretty busy Summer here at the farm, with lots going on and something for everyone!
The tremendous benefits to our wellbeing of being outside in nature and spending time with people, has now been well established. Our regular Walking Group provides the opportunity to experience both these things. Our friendly group meets every Wednesday afternoon, and we walk around the surrounding area, observing the changing seasons and sharing memories and stories. There is always a welcome cuppa and biscuit at the end!
Talking Tables has been a very successful project, funded by LinkAge Bristol, where people can get together and share the joy of cooking and eating together. We have run this several times, and ran some great sessions during the summer, using produce grown on the farm.
A delicious meal prepared and eaten with friends.
We hosted some great free family activities over the summer holidays. APE Project came and ran their popular woodland scamble; we were Nature Detectives exploring the farm and woodland; Scrapstore came almost every week with their playpod to fire up everyone’s imaginations; there was den building and smoothie making. We also had a rather wet Family Fun Day with stalwart, hardy people turning up in their wellies and raincoats to have their faces painted like an Iron Age warrior and enjoy a delicious farm sausage.
The usual daily and seasonal farm jobs and tasks were also carried out including shearing the sheep in the early summer. This prevents the sheep from overheating as the weather warms up. Bill from St Werburgs and Windmill Hill City farm came and sheared the sheep by hand.
Bill shearing the sheep in the summer.
As well as all of those fabulous activities we have also had a lot of Corporate Volunteering – where companies come and volunteer for the day. These days are vital to the farm as this is when we have the opportunity to replace the fencing – a continous job a bit like painting the Forth Bridge! Many companies have supported the farm in this way over the summer including Burges Salmon, North Families, Airbus, WYG, MBDA Systems, AECOM, Allianz, Wessex Water and Accenture. Corporate volunteers also have the opportunity to take part in other activities such as foraging and the farm experience.
And last but by no means least our gardens have been taken care of and made beautiful by the Friday Gardening Club and Herbs for Health group. They have weeded, sown, planted and watered all summer, helping the farm look lovely and providing vegetables and herbs for sale.
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.
Dave, George and James working hard in the Woodland, carrying out essential woodland maintenance
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.
Lee has been volunteering with us since May of this year. He first came to the farm to take part in the Introduction to Volunteering Course, that we run a couple of times a year. Lee was referred by Headway, an organisation based in Frenchay that supports people with brain injuries.
Lee also started coming along to our Walking Group on Wednesdays, he then started volunteering three days a week. Lee is always here bright and early no matter what the weather is like, as he really enjoys getting the animals out in the morning. Lee loves to keep busy and meeting people so volunteering on the farm is very beneficial for him. Working outdoors, with the animals and nature, and being part of a team has greatly improved his wellbeing. Lee says that he ‘loves helping people enjoy their free time.’ Volunteering at the farm has given his life some structure and focus, and the opportunity to meet lots of different people, including those with different needs than him.
Lee’s plans for the future include getting a part time job.
There has been a great deal of focus in the media recently, on the widespread problem of isolation and loneliness and how this can also effect our health. It has also been widely reported that being outside in nature can dramatically improve our mood and wellbeing. The Farm always aims to address both these pressing issues within our community. Simply coming down and having a walk around, or volunteering for a morning a week,can really help with these issues.
Over the last few months we have been running several exciting activities at the farm – Talking Tables, a Walking Group and Woodland Skills. These are all focused on the tremendous health and wellbeing benefits of doing things together with other people, and being outside in nature.
Talking Tables is funded by Bristol Aging Better and organised by LinkAge Network. It is a city wide project taking place with 3 of the city farms, St Werburghs, Windmill Hill and us. It takes place in the café and is an opportunity for people over 50 to get together and share cooking ideas, techniques and recipies. This project is aimed at people who perhaps would like to boost their confidence around cooking, or who enjoy the sociability of cooking and eating together. Cooking and eating with people is one of the fundamental pleasures of life, and there is always a great deal of laughter and fun at a Talking Tables session.
The Walking Group has been running on Wednesday afternoons since the beginning of the summer. Anyone can come along and enjoy a social walk around the farm and surrounding land. This area is a surprisingly rich wildlife habitat with lots of interesting plants and birds. It has been really brilliant to watch the changing of the seasons as they have unfolded, every walk has new delights.
Woodland Skills is a successful course that has been run several times in the tranquil Watervole Woodland. Funded by Learning Communities Team, this course provides a safe space for people to learn hands on skills in a supportive and relaxed environment. Working together in a group outdoors greatly improves people’s wellbeing and mood. Tactile skills such as weaving and using tools are a great counterbalance to the screen based lives many of us have today. It has been shown that creating something with our hands is very good for our mental health and reduces stress and anxiety.
