Help us renovate the Old Dairy

If you are a supporter of Fordhall then you may have received a letter this morning asking if you can help us raise the £100,000 towards our match funding that we need before the 23rd July. This is a steep challenge but we are working hard to make it.

We will also be organising a Barn Dance and Hog Roast on the 31st July to help raise funds towards the project.

This funding will allow us to renovate our crumbling old dairy building to allow us to better accomodate school visits and disabled visitors. It will also create a small tearoom, a shower facility for volunteers, and new office space for the Fordhall Community Land Initiative Staff. We desperately want to keep hold of our dairy building and are hoping that our fundraising will be matched by a grant from the regional development agency. But, we must raise the match funding first.

If you would like to buy a share in Fordhall (and our new tearoom!) or donate to our appeal (all names will be put on a plaque outside the building) then please follow the link to our web pages for more information. Every penny and pound counts and we appreciate every bit.

http://www.fordhallfarm.com/visitorcentre

Raising these funds will help put the Fordhall Community Land Initiative in a financially sustainable position for the future with our proposed new local food tearoom. As I look at the account today, we have already raised over £2000.

What do you think? Fancy owning part of Fordhall and part of our new tearoom?

Any questions please do give us a call 01630 638696

Charlotte

Please Help Us Save George!!

Hi everybody,

Everyone at the farm is sending out a big plea to anyone who can re-home or help to find someone who can re-home George, our gorgeous tame sheep.

Those of you that regularly read our blog will know all about George. He has the most gorgeous character since he was born at Fordhall two years ago. After being rejected by his mum he was hand-reared and everyone fell in love with him, especially Hannah and Maz. He has been a great attraction for people to come and see him, pet him and say hello.

Unfortunately, when we held our summer fair on 13th June, two little boys went to say hello to him and he became a bit playful. After the two boys had been stroking George for a while he got playful and knocked them both over! Neither boy was hurt, but it came as a bit of a shock to them causing a few tears. It has also raised concerns with Ben and Charlotte about having George around the farm with the general public.

This had never happened before, but it could happen again, and so Ben has decided it is time to let George go. Everyone was devastated fearing George was going to be lamb chops!

Usually when hand-reared sheep is old enough it is put out in the field and soon adjusts to being with other sheep, thus becoming more timid with humans. However, George was shown more affection and was even allowed to come into the office; he still runs to Hannah when in the field. Due to our intervention we do not feel it is fair for George to be killed as we have been the cause of his great affection to people. Therefore we would love for someone to give him a loving home, in a large playful environment, where we can keep up to date with how he is doing.

If anyone can help in anyway, it would be immensely appreciated. We only have one week to find him a new home otherwise we may lose him, so please hurry!

Please contact us if you can help 01630 638696 or email project@fordhallfarm.com

Beth

Fordhall's first working weekend of the summer....!

After such a busy Summer Fair Weekend and Beer Festival merely a few weekends ago Fordhall are preparing for their first working weekend of the Summer. The next volunteer weekend is 3rd – 4th July and we are hoping that this great weather continues!


Jobs that we hope to complete this weekend include installing our chainsaw carvings, completing work on our new boardwalk, way marking our farm trail and lots more. It is usual for volunteers to come from all parts of the countryas well as across Shropshire. So if you fancy a weekend doing something different then get in touch, we currently still have spaces left in the yurts too!

Hannah 

Fordhall Farm Beer Festival and Summer Fair were a great success

Fordhall Farm's weekend of festival activities have been a fantastic success this weekend. The real ale and live music went down a storm. Plus all the activities on Sunday kept everyone entertained for hours. We had tractor rides, welling wanging, archery, chainsaw carving, fishing, pond dipping, vegetable growing, farmers' market, fire engines, sheep shearing, face painting, cob sculptures, tree climbing and so much more.

The sun shone (well for all but the last hour of the weekend when it poured down!). Our volunteers were fantastic, the bands were wonderful and the community really enjoyed it.

There are so many thanks to make after such a successful event including A.R. Richards for the fantastic farm machinery and tractor rides, The Good Tree company for the tree climbing, the local firemen for allowing the children to climb all over the engine, all of the amazing bands who kept our visitors entertained for the weekend - they really made the whole atmosphere, the local breweries who supplied beautiful real ales , Ago from Melody Corporation for the amazing marquee, our wonderful sheep shearers, Ben the farmer and many more people besides. Even Johnty from BBC Radio Shropshire enjoyed himself with a few ales - including the special Fordhall Ale in a special edition Fordhall half pint tanckered!

The farm in all its spring glory was the perfect backdrop to this summer event. The real ales were a first for Fordhall, but it is certainly something we will continue with. As the sun shone bright, it was the perfect afternoon chill out: sitting on the grass with the sheep grazing nearby, real ale in the glass and live music too. 

But huge thanks should go to Hannah for the great organisation, Beth for the wonderful bands and to Becca for helping to keep us all in order on the day. Well done one and all - here's to next year :-)

A big thank you must go to all those who supported us over the weekend by attending the event. We know that many travelled from across the country for this weekend including Devon, Kent, Lancashire and Birmingham - thank you.  

If you came along to the day and enjoyed yourself we would love to hear from you. Please leave your comments here.

Charlotte

Fordhall Beer Festival and Summer Fair - This weekend!

If you fancy getting into the party mood before England kicks off its World Cup campaign on Saturday then why not come along to our beer festival ?

We have got two great days planned this weekend! The festival (on both days)  features top local bands as well as an impressive range of locally brewed ales plus it all finishes before kick off at 7.30! The festival then continues on the Sunday when we are holding our annual Summer Fair as part of the national ‘Open Farm Sunday,’ event where the public are encouraged to visit local farms. There is a full programme of attractions including a farmers' market, tractor, fire engine, chainsaw carvings, tree climbing and woodland art, live music, hot food, and more.

Both days cost just £2 a ticket (under threes get in free) and will both be great days out.
For more information please call 01630 638696.

The Shropshire Organic Farmer goes to Brussels!

Yes that's right - here I am! At an EC Conference in Brussels titled: Biodiversity - our lifeline. I arrived this morning for the EC's Green Week Conference of 2010. Their subject, biodiversity, is something that has always been close to our hearts at Fordhall, ever since my father, Arthur Hollins, stopped applying chemical fertilisers to the land over 65 years ago.

Ever since, Fordhall Farm has relied on the rich magical life under the soil surface to breakdown our manure and provide the food that keeps our grass healthy and growing. Somehow, I have been invited to speak in a workshop tomorrow: The soil life we walk on - does it matter? I will be alongside some very well versed speakers including the Head of the Department of Multitrophic Interactions, Netherlands Institue of Ecology, and a gentleman from the Laboratory of Soil Microbiological Analysis, France.

Nothing more than a simple farmer amongst them all, I will endeavour to tell the story of how dad returned the fertility to our soils, saving our farm from bankruptcy in the process, by encouraging and protecting the life beneath our feet....wish me luck!

It is a huge honour to be invited to speak to such a prestigious audience, and it certainly means that Fordhall is spreading its influence.

More information can be found at http://www.greenweek2010.eu/session/14-soil-life-we-walk-does-it-matter-0

Charlotte

Scarecrow arts and crafts event for Half Term

If your wondering what to do this half term holiday then why not come down to Fordhall Farm for some holiday fun. We need help to build a scarecrow to help keep the birds away from our vegetables - can you help us build one?

You will also get the opportunity to build a small scarecrow to take home for your own garden! Running from 10am to 12.30pm on Wednesday 2nd June, these children's activities provide fun for all the family on a real working organic farm.

Suitable for over 3 yrs. Under 9's must be accompanied by an adult. £5 per child. Places are limited so please book in advance. 01630 638696.

Are you looking forward to the Fordhall Beer Festival & Summer Fair?

.......Because we certainly are! There is not long to go until Fordhall farm host our fantastic Beer Festival & Summer Fair and we have got so much going on! We have got so many fantastic things going on that I really don't know where to start!
The Saturday is a pure Beer Festival with lots of live music from 11am - 6pm so pop in and see us before you watch the England match (what a great day!)
On Sunday, as part of Open Farm Sunday, the fantastic beer festival continues but is joined by our annual Summer Fair that is bigger and better this year!  Attractions include a great Farmers' Market, live theatre, woodland art, tree climbing, fishing, face painting, chainsaw carvings, tractor rides, RAF helicopter, hog roast and much, much more! Don't miss out! (Entrance to both days is just £2) We hope to see you there as we are raising money in order to renovate some of the buildings on the farm. So please help us to spread the word as much as possible!
Hannah 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHARLOTTE!

Here at Fordhall Farm we would like to wish Charlotte a very happy birthday!

Enjoy your day!

Dawn Chorus at Fordhall was a great success

On Saturday 1st May and Sunday 2nd May we held dawn chorus walks around the farm. They went very well and a lot of people joined in even though it was a very early start, (getting to the farm for 4.30am!). Between fifteen and twenty people turned up on each morning feeling slightly groggy, but excited about what they might be about to see and hear. At this time of year the birds are coming back to find a mate and make their nests, making them more vocal at this time as they state their territory.


On Saturday morning, although it was reasonably warm, it was very misty which meant the birds could be heard but not seen. Unfortunate as this was, it did not hinder the morning at all and everybody loved it, especially as it was that bit warmer the birds were more vocal which made for the most beautiful sounds! On Sunday it was a lot colder, but very clear and we were fortunate enough to see a beautiful sunrise. We saw a large array of birds, including black caps, rooks, blue tits, owl pellets, robins, sparrows and very excitingly a glimpse of a peregrine falcon.

On our return we were presented with a hot cup of tea, porridge and a locally produced full English breakfast, so delicious and kindly prepared by Charlotte and thankfully received by everyone that had got quite cold during the walk. This made the cold walk well worth it!

A huge thank you goes to Paul Rutter who led the walks, everybody learnt a great deal and had a great time.


Beth, Admin Assistant and wildlife enthusiast!