We were met at the farm gates by Pat on a freezing winters morning. The farm was looking stunning in the chilly weather with bright blue skies. Our task for the morning was to fill a new allotment bed with manure and soil and then remove the soil and dismantle an old allotment bed. We did a lot of shovelling but managed to get the task done. Our reward at the end was feeding the goats!

The farm had brought some new containers to store barley. After clearing out the storage shed, our task was to unpack the component parts from the delivery and assemble the containers; this was required some understanding of flat pack furniture construction. The farm had ordered three containers each complete with a lid and inner panels. We opened the first pack and looked at the instructions. All the parts were there but no screws. Then, the second pack; again no screws. Finally, we opened the third pack which was complete. It was a full team effort to read the instructions and fit all the panels together but eventually we assembled one container! Hopefully the additional screws will arrive in time for our next session.

We were met on the farm by Connor and were shown to our task which involved tidying, clearing and cleaning an area of the farm used to store wheelbarrows and equipment. We cut back brambles and cleared the greenery away. There were large animals crates which needed scrubbing with iodine and rinsing. While working away we had a brief interlude to help herd some sheep 🐑! The final part of the task involved sweeping the store and hosing the area down. It was a satisfying task. Our reward at the end was getting to walk the ferrets around the farm to give them some excercise. They were adorable! Finally to finish Connor made us a delish hot chocolate. We all had a fab time.

Today at Surrey Docks Farm involved lots of pruning. We started off with pruning back a willow arch (the same one that we tackled back at the start of 2023). We stripped off the leaves from the bigger stems so these can be used for other things (useful for fences, edging, and tying things together) and saved the smaller ones for the goats.

Undeterred by the rain, we headed towards the river to continue pruning before James gave us a tour of the farm (feeding the goats and sheep on the way round).

Yesterday, Emma, James and Paulin went to Surrey Docks Farm to help out.

As usual, we were met by Pat, who showed us what we needed to do. She led us to piles of sleepers (big wooden logs), which needed to be moved to near the allotments, where they will be used to rebuilding the beds.

This was hard work as the sleepers were very heavy! We experimented with different ways of loading the wheelbarrows, and we worked as a team. Connor from the farm also helped out - he put us to shame by carrying 3 at a time by himself! 💪

Nevertheless, we persisted and we were quite proud of what we'd achieved over the 90 minutes. We were treated to time with Roger the rabbit, and feeding the goats, so it was all worth it at the end!

Andrada met up with Asad, Kat and Louis and Oliver early morning at the farm. The sky was sunny and clear, and everyone was eager to get to work. Pat met us at the gates and given us the task for the session.

During this session, farm enthusiasts Asad, Kat and Louis filled the new raised beds with manure and reused soil from tomatoes pots from the greenhouse.

Oliver and Andrada were busy digging and filling up the space next to the main path around the raised beds with woodchip to prevent the main path from flooding. This involved doing multiple trips with full wheelbarrows and using the freshly removed soil to level up the entrance to the donkeys’ field, which needed a bit of flood prevention measures as well.

It was a busy 90 minutes for all of us, but we got to unwind for 30 minutes at the end by picking up apples from the orchid and feeding them to the lovely Rollo, Pollo and their piglets.

We ended our visit by hanging out with the new baby calves on site 🐄 whose names are still debated by the farm’s staff. All we know is that they will carry names of biscuits!