Your Invite:
Farm on the Hill would love to invite you to our 2018 fundraising camping weekend.
(a little last minute i know but we've been so busy!!)
We would love you to come and join in with what should be a wonderful, fun filled, yet relaxing weekend, and help us to raise the funds for the next stage of the farm regeneration :-).
There will be all sorts of things to take part in or try your hand at from crafts and nature activities to musical instrument and music making. We might even throw in a welly wanging competition or two! :-)...and of course we have lots of tools if you fancy giving us a hand with a little gardening! :-)
The whole weekend will be fairly low key, we're only going to be able to accomodate 200 people, farm on the hill wouldn't be farm on the hill if it was too busy! :-)
I'm imagining something beautiful :-)
Even if you can't make it to the weekend itself please do consider donating anyway...we promise to do nothing but good with your money...read on to find out more :-)
To find out more about our project and the weekend itself please see below :-)
A little about this year's project
Farm on the Hill Is now entering its next stage of regeneration with the taking back of an additional 80 acres of land this September. This land has been arable farmed non organically for approximately 25 years and needs our help. And therefore we need yours! :-)
seedFirstly we intend to sow grass and clover seed on much of the land in order that we can begin to rebuild the humus layer of the soil through a mix of cutting and mulching.
In addition to this approximately 10 acres of land next to the campsite will be sown with a mix of green manures to feed the soil in advance of us planting perennial crops and fruit bushes into it in 2019/2020. |
My Grandad, Reginald Bailey, with the seed fiddle he made for us back in 2011 when we sowed the wildflower meadows. We'll be using this to sow the seed you help us to buy :)
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TreesTrees: We will be planting many many trees over the next few years in order to expand the woodland areas around the whole site creating a habitat rich area that traverses the whole land, this will start in the new campsite field this winter, joining onto the 12 acre native woodland we planted with the help of the Woodland Trust early 2011
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when we planted the 12 acre woodland that is now the campsite in 2011... so very different now! :-)
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ponds
Farm on the Hill does not currently have any ponds or water on the land we manage. The water on the farm has traditionally been drained down into one of the lower fields where a large pond collected the water. This pond, due to change of land management, has been drained in recent years and currently all the water from this side of the farm leaves the farm. We will be creating a new pond system with a large pond in the bottom field and a series of smaller ponds uphill from it. The water from the bottom will be pumped back up hill to feed the ponds and provide water for the farm. These pond areas are vital for the farm's ecological sustainability and something that is missing at the moment. This year's drought brought water management and water provision for wildlife to the forefront meaning that we have already begun this project by digging two small ponds in the top field.
The money you can help us raise
The money that we raise from this event will be used to help fund the above, the first thing to purchase is the seed... :-)
Please consider supporting us in this project and helping to restore vital habitat to Farm on the Hill. If you would like to come along and support us at this fund raising weekend please follow this link for tickets, or even if you can't come but would still like to support us by making a donation (every pound would be gratefully recieved! :-)) please click on the following link:
Farm on the Hill's Go Fund Me Page
Please consider supporting us in this project and helping to restore vital habitat to Farm on the Hill. If you would like to come along and support us at this fund raising weekend please follow this link for tickets, or even if you can't come but would still like to support us by making a donation (every pound would be gratefully recieved! :-)) please click on the following link:
Farm on the Hill's Go Fund Me Page
Our Aims
Public Access to Nature:
We would like Farm on the Hill to be a place that is open to people.
We want to create a place where you can come and camp, garden, walk, or just sit and enjoy the space. We're going to plant dedicated foraging walks with identification boards where you can come and harvest wild fresh food, there will be places designed in which you can sit and relax, read a book, do a painting, take a picnic. We will incorporate larger spaces that will be available to the community and local groups and schools free of charge and can be used for anything from forest school activities to children's birthday parties.
We want this space to bring as much happiness and freedom to other people as it does us.
Education:
At Farm on the Hill we are passionate about sharing knowledge about the things we love, we will be putting up a lot of information boards around the farm telling you about what we're doing and why, what certain plants are and what they can be used for, which foods are edible and which are not, identification boards for trees, insects, birds, lots and lots of information as well as activities that you can try while you're here. We would like to develop links with local schools and groups who will be welcome to use our community space free of charge,and will be starting to run courses from the farm in spring of 2019. We want learning to be incidental, a part of wandering around and enjoying the space, a case of 'really, wow, i didn't know that! :-)'
Research and some of the things we'll grow:
GIven what we know know about the detrimental effects of many modern farming techniques It is important that we find ways to farm and live sustainably.
Permaculture: Much research is currently underway worldwide in the field of permaculture but most of this is based on small scale farms and gardens and doesn't become as viable when translated to larger commercial sized farms. However it is these farms that we need to be able to influence if we want to see real change. It is our aim to trial and experiment with ways in which the permaculture model can be translated onto a larger scale.
Food Crops:
We will be trialling perennial food crops like Skirret and Hablitzia that don't require annual cultivation and therefore have a lower environmental impact.
We will be planting a forest garden modelled on a open woodland ecosystem. The trees and plants selected to create this forest will be a mix of plants such as food crops, medicinal plants, dye plants and nitrogen fixers.
We currently have a 5 year old orchard of approximately 100 trees set within grassland, this will be interplanted with other fruiting crops such as berries as well as plants that will provide food for the trees such as comfrey.
We will be planting many more foraging hedgerows. These will be planted with a mix of native edible plants and trees and will be open to the public for foraging. We're very pro foraging and would love to inspire others to love it too, once you start it just grows and grows...there are so many wonderful edible plants everywhere around us...often being ploughed up to make space for other edible ones!
If you come to the weekend we'll let you try a spoon of our Himalayan Balsam Syrup, it's so very good! :-)
Fibre and Dye Plants:
We will be trialling the production of nettle fibre over the next couple of years in the hope of finding a a way to grow this commercially and be able to provide a sustainable perennial fibre. Alongside this we will be growing a variety of dye plants and experimenting with ways of creating dyes, paints and pigments.
We would like Farm on the Hill to be a place that is open to people.
We want to create a place where you can come and camp, garden, walk, or just sit and enjoy the space. We're going to plant dedicated foraging walks with identification boards where you can come and harvest wild fresh food, there will be places designed in which you can sit and relax, read a book, do a painting, take a picnic. We will incorporate larger spaces that will be available to the community and local groups and schools free of charge and can be used for anything from forest school activities to children's birthday parties.
We want this space to bring as much happiness and freedom to other people as it does us.
Education:
At Farm on the Hill we are passionate about sharing knowledge about the things we love, we will be putting up a lot of information boards around the farm telling you about what we're doing and why, what certain plants are and what they can be used for, which foods are edible and which are not, identification boards for trees, insects, birds, lots and lots of information as well as activities that you can try while you're here. We would like to develop links with local schools and groups who will be welcome to use our community space free of charge,and will be starting to run courses from the farm in spring of 2019. We want learning to be incidental, a part of wandering around and enjoying the space, a case of 'really, wow, i didn't know that! :-)'
Research and some of the things we'll grow:
GIven what we know know about the detrimental effects of many modern farming techniques It is important that we find ways to farm and live sustainably.
Permaculture: Much research is currently underway worldwide in the field of permaculture but most of this is based on small scale farms and gardens and doesn't become as viable when translated to larger commercial sized farms. However it is these farms that we need to be able to influence if we want to see real change. It is our aim to trial and experiment with ways in which the permaculture model can be translated onto a larger scale.
Food Crops:
We will be trialling perennial food crops like Skirret and Hablitzia that don't require annual cultivation and therefore have a lower environmental impact.
We will be planting a forest garden modelled on a open woodland ecosystem. The trees and plants selected to create this forest will be a mix of plants such as food crops, medicinal plants, dye plants and nitrogen fixers.
We currently have a 5 year old orchard of approximately 100 trees set within grassland, this will be interplanted with other fruiting crops such as berries as well as plants that will provide food for the trees such as comfrey.
We will be planting many more foraging hedgerows. These will be planted with a mix of native edible plants and trees and will be open to the public for foraging. We're very pro foraging and would love to inspire others to love it too, once you start it just grows and grows...there are so many wonderful edible plants everywhere around us...often being ploughed up to make space for other edible ones!
If you come to the weekend we'll let you try a spoon of our Himalayan Balsam Syrup, it's so very good! :-)
Fibre and Dye Plants:
We will be trialling the production of nettle fibre over the next couple of years in the hope of finding a a way to grow this commercially and be able to provide a sustainable perennial fibre. Alongside this we will be growing a variety of dye plants and experimenting with ways of creating dyes, paints and pigments.
The Camping Weekend:
The weekend will be a low key, family friendly camping weekend. There will be acoustic music, campfires, nature and craft activities, musical instrument making, and lots of farm work that you can get involved with should you wish to lend us a hand! There will be music round the fires at night so if you play please bring your instrument along...the more the merrier :-)
Camping: People are invited to bring their own tents and join us for a weekend of camping. As this is a fund raising weekend we will be fitting in more tents than usual...we have a lot of money to raise after all!, so be prepared to have other people camped near you... something that never normally happens here! :-)
Food: We will not be providing food, food is a bring your own affair just like normal camping
Rubbish: We would really appreciate it if people could take their own rubbish away for this weekend, thank you
Camping: People are invited to bring their own tents and join us for a weekend of camping. As this is a fund raising weekend we will be fitting in more tents than usual...we have a lot of money to raise after all!, so be prepared to have other people camped near you... something that never normally happens here! :-)
Food: We will not be providing food, food is a bring your own affair just like normal camping
Rubbish: We would really appreciate it if people could take their own rubbish away for this weekend, thank you
Prices:
Price for the weekend is £20/person for the two nights camping for anyone 3 and over...slightly higher than the normal price of £15
As this is an event to raise money for regeneration, payment should be made as a donation through our go fund me page.
When you have made a donation please send us a message via the contact page and we'll forward you arrival details.
As this is an event to raise money for regeneration, payment should be made as a donation through our go fund me page.
When you have made a donation please send us a message via the contact page and we'll forward you arrival details.
Why you should support us :-)
Because you'll have a great time and we promise to do great things with your money :-)
and because we really do need your help!
Even if you can't come to the weekend please feel free to donate via our go fund me page, all donations will be used for regenerative work, every single penny we promise, thank you
and because we really do need your help!
Even if you can't come to the weekend please feel free to donate via our go fund me page, all donations will be used for regenerative work, every single penny we promise, thank you
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