Defenders of the Earth at Fordhall Farm

This weekend we had a fantastic group of volunteers on one of our Get Mucky weekends! They spent the whole weekend working hard to tidy up parts of Fordhall Farm and enrich the sensory experience in the ‘pignic’ area and woodland.

Pat preparing to feed the pigs.

One big job of the weekend was litter picking, also known as “defending the earth”! The job was to clear the rubbish that had been fly-tipped in a far field of the farm about 10 years ago. This took most of the volunteers most of the weekend, but they got it almost all done, which has allowed us to open up the 3rd walk around the farm, Arthur’s Trail.

Nettle clearing in the woodland

The other big job that was taken on this weekend was tree rescuing. In February, we planted a whole load of trees for the Jubilee. Since then, the nettles and vegetation have grown and taken over the young trees’ space. The volunteers dug and tugged and managed to clear the space, giving the trees a chance to get the nutrients from the ground and allowed the light to reach them.

Alongside these jobs, we repaired a water butt, built stepping stones, painted non-slip paint on bridges, prepared planters, fixed picnic benches, mowed the grass and created a musical washing line!

The Golden Girls

Tired but happy volunteers!

I think this last job had some input from almost every volunteer of the weekend, led mostly by “the Golden Girls” from London and Wiltshire. We used spare bits of junk to create a fun new activity for children in the ‘pignic’ area. Who knew a few bits of junk and a wooden spoon could be so much fun!? This weekend proves you can be any age to volunteer at Fordhall Farm, with age ranges from 10 to 77, everyone mucked in and everyone had fun, thank you all :-)

Our first visitor making music!

Why not come and see all the progress that has been made at our Summer Fair on June 24th. The event runs from 10am-4pm (entry £3). There will be tractor rides, donkeys, a maypole, face painting, pond dipping and more.
Our 'pignic' area is also open, with our farm trails, shop and tearoom Tues - Sun.