This Autumn term is a very exciting time for the school farm as every class spends a week on a “farm residential”, ensuring everyone has a chance to feed and care for the animals and
This Autumn term is a very exciting time for the school farm as every class spends a week on a “farm residential”, ensuring everyone has a chance to feed and care for the animals and get involved in growing and developing the farm. Each week learning is focussed on the wonderful outdoor spaces and involves everyone getting a bit muddy and having plenty of fresh air.
So far Aslan, Shadow and Tulane have been on the farm and have been engaged in lots of modelling and investigations about the stone age and Anglo- Saxons as well as cooking outside using the Dutch oven donated by last year’s year 6 as their leaving present to the school. Anglo-Saxon vegetable stew has proved incredibly popular with many pupils opting for seconds and thirds when cooking and eating around the campfires in the woodland area.
These farm weeks have given everyone in the school the opportunity to get to know the farm and contribute. The sudden rain made it clear that the path needed relaying, so Year 6 pupils have been helping remove the gravel from the old path and all pupils have been digging, weeding and learning how to care for the chickens and pigs. Ethel and Mabel, the pigs, were not too impressed by the rain either and refused to get out of bed but were enjoying the mud and sunshine once the rain eased off.
SBS Farm played a huge part in the recent Open Days too, with insect clay modelling and tours of the farm proving very much in demand. It is clear to see that the dream of incorporating the farm into school life is being achieved!
Mr Howard has been working hard to prepare the old fruit cage area into a very secure and welfare-friendly home for two lucky rabbits, who will move in soon. Mrs Strugnall told me that to be happy and healthy rabbits need an area 2m x 3m x 1.5 m high with access from their hutch to the outside all the time. It is also vital ta hat the run has a secure roof and the wire fences go underground with slabs on top to ensure the rabbits are safe from the many predators around. Foxes can dig down under the run fencing if this is not done. A huge thanks to the Friends of SBS who are buying a large hutch to attach to the run. Traditionally rabbits were kept in hutches to fatten them up, but the SBS rabbits will have lots of space to run and jump. Once the run is completed the floor area will be turfed or seeded –and then the lucky rabbits can move in.
The cabin is being used and battery-operated fairy lights will go up soon – the slabs at the door have been laid to have an area to take off muddy wellies and the new path will join up to the cabin.
As winter approaches Mrs Strugnall and all farm helpers will focus on setting up planters and starting off crops in the polytunnel.
What is needed now is: –
- More slabs – thanks for those already in use
- Compost
- Topsoil
- A shed in reasonable condition
- Pallets for making planters
- Metal sinks in usable condition for hand-washing station – thanks for the lovely ceramic sink already donated
When I arrived to visit this month, a little girl asked me what I was there for and when I told her, immediately told me all about her time on the farm and how she got to “really feed the pigs and chickens”. How great is that!
Suzanne – Nanna to Lare Rose in Elmer