Farms for City Children
Encyclopedia
Farms for City Children is a UK registered charity which aims to provide experience of farm and countryside life for inner-city children.
and his wife, Clare Morpurgo
(the oldest daughter of Sir Allen Lane
, the founder of Penguin Books
), established the charity Farms for City Children, with the primary aim of providing children from inner city areas with experience of the countryside. Clare Morpurgo used her legacy after her father's death to found the charity. The programme involves the children spending a week at a countryside farm
, during which they take part in purposeful farmyard work.
The first children arrived in January 1976, and 75,000 children have taken part in the scheme since it was set up, and the charity now has three farms in Devon
, Gloucestershire
and Wales
. In 1999 the couple were created Members of the Order of the British Empire
(MBE) in recognition of these services to youth.
Michael Morpurgo has described how the relationship between young boy with a stammer
who came with Farms for City Children to Devon for a week and a horse on the farm was partly responsible for inspiring the novel War Horse.
A group of 36-40 children from urban primary schools, accompanied by four or five teachers, spend a week on the farm, during which time the children will be split into three groups. The farm jobs are rotated so that each group does each job at least twice, with the result that the second time around the children feel "more like experienced farmers". Jobs include feeding livestock, mucking out, grooming horses and donkeys, assisting at milking time, and working in the vegetable gardens. Naturally, many of the activities are seasonal and can include lambing in spring and making bonfires and pressing apples for juice in the autumn.
sister charity, Farms for City Kids, was set up in 1992 by Karli and Jim Hagedorn, who had learned of Farms for City Children on a visit to the UK. Their charity's farm in Vermont
was purchased in 1992.
Foundation
In 1974 author Michael MorpurgoMichael Morpurgo
Michael Morpurgo, OBE FKC AKC is an English author, poet, playwright and librettist, best known for his work in children's literature. He was the third Children's Laureate.-Early life:...
and his wife, Clare Morpurgo
Clare Morpurgo
Clare Morpurgo MBE, née Lane, is the wife of British author Michael Morpurgo.She is the oldest daughter of Allen Lane, the founder of Penguin books....
(the oldest daughter of Sir Allen Lane
Allen Lane
Sir Allen Lane was a British publisher who founded Penguin Books, bringing high quality paperback fiction and non-fiction to the mass market.-Early life and family:...
, the founder of Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
), established the charity Farms for City Children, with the primary aim of providing children from inner city areas with experience of the countryside. Clare Morpurgo used her legacy after her father's death to found the charity. The programme involves the children spending a week at a countryside farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
, during which they take part in purposeful farmyard work.
The first children arrived in January 1976, and 75,000 children have taken part in the scheme since it was set up, and the charity now has three farms in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. In 1999 the couple were created Members of the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(MBE) in recognition of these services to youth.
Michael Morpurgo has described how the relationship between young boy with a stammer
Stammer
A stammer, or stammering, is a speech disorder typified by the involuntary repetition of a sound or sounds.Stammer, Stammers and Stammmering may also refer to:* Notker of St Gall "Notker the Stammerer" * Steven Stamkos A stammer, or stammering, is a speech disorder typified by the involuntary ...
who came with Farms for City Children to Devon for a week and a horse on the farm was partly responsible for inspiring the novel War Horse.
Aims and activities
The Farms for City Children charity describes itself thus:"Over the years the formula has changed very little. Simply, children are involved in everything necessary to keep the farms going. They learn hands-on where their food comes from, the importance of caring for animals and the land, and the value of working co-operatively as a team. The rewards are, unusually, non-material and self-generated: children discover an active enjoyment in life and a sense of achievement, the effects of which remain with them long after they have waved the farms goodbye."
A group of 36-40 children from urban primary schools, accompanied by four or five teachers, spend a week on the farm, during which time the children will be split into three groups. The farm jobs are rotated so that each group does each job at least twice, with the result that the second time around the children feel "more like experienced farmers". Jobs include feeding livestock, mucking out, grooming horses and donkeys, assisting at milking time, and working in the vegetable gardens. Naturally, many of the activities are seasonal and can include lambing in spring and making bonfires and pressing apples for juice in the autumn.
The farms
Currently the charity has three farms:- Nethercott House, just outside the village of IddesleighIddesleighIddesleigh is a village in Devon, England....
in DevonDevonDevon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. The farm is a Grade II listed Victorian building. - Treginnis Isaf, near St David'sSt David'sSt Davids , is a city and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Lying on the River Alun on St David's Peninsula, it is Britain's smallest city in terms of both size and population, the final resting place of Saint David, the country's patron saint, and the de facto ecclesiastical capital of...
in PembrokeshirePembrokeshirePembrokeshire is a county in the south west of Wales. It borders Carmarthenshire to the east and Ceredigion to the north east. The county town is Haverfordwest where Pembrokeshire County Council is headquartered....
, Wales. Treginnis Isaf is leased from the National TrustNational Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural BeautyThe National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
and is the most westerly farm in Wales. - Wick Court at ArlinghamArlinghamArlingham is a village and civil parish in the Stroud District of Gloucestershire, England. The 200 Census recorded a parish population of 410. The parish occupies a peninsula on a sharp bend in the River Severn. The next parish to the east is Fretherne with Saul.In Passage Road is a fish...
in GloucestershireGloucestershireGloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, a Grade II* listed Elizabethan moated Manor House.
Funding
Farms for City Children relies on funding from charitable trusts, foundations and businesses, as well as by individual private donations. It requires £300,000 per annum to subsidise the true cost of each child's place; in addition it needs to raise money to maintain the three historic farm properties. The charity's website has a shop which sells merchandise including signed copies of some of Michael Morpurgo's books.Sister organisation
An AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sister charity, Farms for City Kids, was set up in 1992 by Karli and Jim Hagedorn, who had learned of Farms for City Children on a visit to the UK. Their charity's farm in Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
was purchased in 1992.