Care Farming at Countryways

I first met Wendy Gray in April 2019. Wendy is the Founder of Countryways Care Farm and she and her husband are co-leaders of the care farm which sits within her family-owned 250 acre working farm in the Chilterns.

Wendy was looking for potential volunteers with an educational background and I jumped at the chance to join her band of helpers for a 2 year period. As that time is now coming to a close and I will soon be stepping down from Countryways am concentrating on pushing forward with the Buckinghamshire Food Partnership Project, I have been reflecting on everything I've learned from my engagement with them over the last two years.

There is no substitute for getting involved with the strategic or operational elements of an organisation in allowing a person to gaining an understanding of their work. I was very grateful for this opportunity because being part of Countryways has really helped me understand the ins and outs of grass roots care farming. I've also been fortunate enough to visit many other green care gardens and farms and its been fascinating to see the similarities and indeed the differences in the way each organisation works.

I think my biggest 'takeaway' from the last two years has been the authenticity of placing children and young people on working farms and how that gives them all three of the key care farming elements: social interaction, purposeful work and being outdoors. However, in being authentic I often wonder if that excludes younger children from taking part? Working farms can be potentially dangerous places to be due to the nature of the job and Health and safety procedures must be robust to keep everyone safe.

Before joining Countryways I was curious as to why many farms had age limits for the children visiting the farm but now I can see it from the perspective of farms who specify certain age limits. Having trained in Early Childhood Development and spent many years working with young children I ask myself - Is it reasonable to expect younger children to listen to adults and follow safety guidelines at all times? Can younger children carry out purposeful work, in the context of care farming? Every child is different and some may well be able to take part with appropriate adult support but others may find that very challenging. So for now, many farms will only focus on giving older children and young people this valuable experience, something they not have been able to engage with under their usual daily lives.

So thank you Wendy, and I wish you and Countryways every success in the years ahead.