The Community Farm will host five open afternoons and two open days this summer promising fun for all the family. The first afternoon will be held on June 14, and then on July 19, August 16, September 20 and October 25. The open days are on July 5 and August 30. As there is limited parking space at the farm, for these events there will be a free shuttle bus service from Kewaigue School.
Further details about the itinerary for each event will be published nearer the time on www.thechildrenscentre.org.im and you can also keep up to date about all news to do with the Community Farm by reading a new blog at http://thecommunityfarm.wordpress.com
Chrissy Cannell, Community Farm Team Leader, said:
“This summer promises to be the best yet for the Community Farm, and the open days and open afternoons will play a big part in allowing the whole community to see what we do. The Farm is a charitable project run by The Children’s Centre, so these events are also important to us as one of the ways we raise funds. There is no entry fee for either the open days or open afternoons, but donations are welcome from anyone who attends. The new blog is a great way for anyone to find out what’s happening, it already has lots of details about some fantastic events and projects such as our Crop Share scheme, and Weekend Workshops which include events focusing on composting, willow weaving and bread making to name just a few of the topics.”
The Crop Share scheme allows anyone to buy fresh produce grown on the farm. Weekly shares cost ?10 per week and will provide a bag of produce for one to three adults and children. The amount and varieties of produce in each bag will vary according to what is in season. All money raised goes directly to fund Community Farm projects.
Parents with children celebrating birthdays in the summer can also hire the Community Farm as a party venue – more details are on the blog. This is a new offering for The Children’s Centre following requests from families to be able to access the farm in this way.
The Community Farm is based at Wallberry Farm on the Carnane Estate off the Old Castletown Road in Douglas, and opened in January 2011. It allows children and young people from across the Island to learn from practical experience about caring for animals and growing crops. Over 100 children and young adults are involved in the farm’s nurturing and educational projects in an average week. A dedicated team of staff provide one-to-one and small group work alongside the Community Farm’s successful Fork-to-Fork primary school’s programme which currently involves 10 year 4 classes from across the Island.
Voluntary workers donating time to work on a variety of projects are also vital to the farm’s continued success. For more information about The Community Farm go to http://www.thechildrenscentre.org.im/what-we-do/community-farm/ or contact Chrissy Cannell on 615450 or 676076 or by emailing farm@thechildrenscentre.org.im.
Photo - The Community Farm has events for all the family this summer.
