Member Article

Farm’s visitor numbers boosted thanks to funding

Ouseburn Farm in Byker, Newcastle reported an increase in visitors during the school summer holidays thanks to a major funding boost.

Mila Charitable Organisation donated £17,000 to the farm earlier this year and that money will be used to improve facilities, resources and overall educational opportunities.

The funding was also used to enable the farm to deliver free activities for all visitors over the school summer holidays. The Farmers’ Club proved to be the most popular with over 350 people helping staff and volunteers to prepare the animals for the day by mucking out, grooming and feeding, whilst learning about animal husbandry.

Entry to the farm is free all year round, with additional ticketed activities available to visitors during school holidays. Mila’s donation covered the staff costs and materials needed to deliver twice-daily structured sessions free of charge to visitors during the summer holidays.

Those participating said it was great way of bringing the whole family together and learn about farming, growing and where food comes from. In addition, it enabled them to learn team working skills, sharing, growing confidence and building positive relationships.

One family who participated in the activities was Alan Wright. He said: “I came to the Farmers’ Club today with my three kids and thought it was absolutely amazing.

“Farmer Richie was brilliant explaining everything as they went around with the kids who enjoyed carrying out the jobs given. Being able to feed and hold some of the animals is a great experience for little ones.

“I have great childhood memories and it’s great being able to share these with my kids.”

Sally Adams from Ouseburn Farm, said: “Our summer activities have been a huge success with something for everyone. The warm weather and recent Great Exhibition of the North event would have had a large part to play in this success but we are very grateful to Mila Charitable Organisation for providing the funding to enable us to deliver these activities.

“The school holidays can be a challenging time for some families, particularly keeping little ones busy and active throughout the six weeks. Financial barriers can often prevent families engaging with structured activities, especially families living in the Ouseburn and surrounding areas, so for us to be able to provide these activities helped enormously in achieving access for all.

“Some of the families who attended hadn’t previously visited the farm before so they got to see first-hand the excellent facilities and activities we have on offer. Some even returned more than once and participated in other free activities. There was a real community buzz around the farm and it was a huge success.

“Here at the farm, we always try and encourage families to participate in activities alongside their children as this promotes stronger family units and helps adults link in with others in their community to start develop informal social networks.”

Plans are in place to make further improvements to the farm throughout the autumn to provide an even better visitor experience and details will be announced soon.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Up North Communications .