Autumn 2024 newsletter
IN FOCUS! Education Programme & Young Farmers
For our autumn In Focus piece we learn about our main Education programme, our Young Farmers programme, and some of the Farm's history in working with young people plus some plans for the future.
Click the button below to read our full interview with Kirsten (Education Manager) and Arms (Education and Youth Engagement Intern).
The Famous Annual Sheep Drive
Since 2022 we have been invited to have a stall at the Worshipful Company of Woolmen’s annual Livery Fair, as part of the London Sheep Drive event, and on 29th September this year we took part again.
The Fair is a wonderful opportunity to showcase Spitalfields as the closest city farm to the square mile, and promote the community and native sheep conservation work we do to a new audience. Visitors to our stall get to meet the Castlemilk Moorit sheep, a perfect ambassador for rare breeds, and are amazed to hear the story of Beatrix, our one-eared Herdwick. Connecting with her provides an encouraging awareness on the issue of dog attacks on livestock, and how important it is to keep our dogs on a lead when signs instruct us to do so.
A highlight of the event is making new friendships with wool producers and crafters – one successful connection has been with Justine from Ossian Knitwear, who joined us this year to promote the London City Farm Yarn project. Justine is collecting all the fleece from London and Greater London city farms to make a commercial run of yarn.
Our attendance at the Livery Fair is only made possible with the generous support of the Worshipful Company of Grocers, as our education stall relies on donations to support our staff, livestock transport, and pitch fees for the day.
Image credit: Justine, London City Farm Yarn Project
VEG OF THE MONTH - Brussel Sprouts
Our Veg of the Month for this newsletter is the ever-polarising Brussels Sprout! Much like Marmite, you either love them or you hate them. They are from the 'Brassica oleracea' family of cruciferous vegetables which also includes cabbages, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, collard greens, kohlrabi and gai lan.
Here you can see our Brussels sprouts patch, which we'll be harvesting and selling for local people's Christmas dinners this winter. We are growing a mixture of the purple variety and the more common green variety. The netting serves as protection against birds who, given half a chance, love to eat most of the plants before they've even had a chance to produce.
Brussels are incredibly good for us, containing iron, folate, fibre, potassium, and Vitamins K, C, B6 + A.
FARM SHOP - improvement works
Our shop is undergoing some improvement works, having recently been taken over by our long-time farm worker Izzy. We are so excited to see what they bring to our shop offering.
So far, corporate team challenge groups have given it a fresh coat of paint and done some repairs; we have plans in the pipeline for reestablishing the sale of cosmetic products made from herbs and weeds grown here on the Farm; increasing the number and variety of plants and seeds that we sell; been in touch with merchandise partners at various national farming projects and initiatives; and we are working on our own merchandise line too, starting with a t-shirt (adult and junior sizes) and tea-towel design project that was begun by Kirsten, our Education Manager. The brilliant and funny drawings on the tea-towel were done by all our volunteers and staff.
Lastly, we are now restocking our Poetry in Wood products, which are made during art, design, and woodwork skills training sessions for individuals with learning disabilities in Spitalfields, just two streets away from us.
If you have more ideas on what you'd like to see on sale in our shop, please reach out and let us know!
FOOD JUSTICE - Embracing Our Land Revolution Launch, 1st September
On Sunday 1st September we welcomed The Blueprint Architects, an incredible Tower Hamlets based food justice collective, to launch a food justice project asking "what could our kitchens and corner shops look like in Tower Hamlets by 2050 if we had a community-led food system?"
This summer, local artists and residents of Tower Hamlets collaborated to create a mobile arts installation - a trailer that is touring the borough representing dreams for an alternative food system. This event celebrated the launch of their installation tour and land campaign, titled Embracing Our Land Revolution.
There was a collective mural painting session led by artist Fawziyah Rahman, seed bomb workshops, and truly delicious Palestinian food by Mayya Husseini. The Farm is really looking forward to welcoming the collective back soon. Check out their Instagram!
Image credit: Food Justice London
Supporters Lunch, 13th September
The Farm recently held a 'thank you' lunch to some of our key supporters. This included some of our trust and foundation funders, people who have given us a large individual donation, and corporate supporters.
Simone from our onsite Tea Hut prepared an amazing two courses. The lunch gave everyone the chance to meet some of our staff and trustees, to hear about the work of the Farm and our plans for the future. But more importantly, it gave us the opportunity to say thank you for all of them for the amazing support they've given us over the years, and into the future.
"I completely loved being with you all for a delicious lunch – (cake AND custard?) – in a truly inspiring place with chatty, enthusiastic people. Thank you, it was a real treat."
Bat Conservation Trust x Sustainably Muslim: dusk bat encounters, 20th September
On 20th September, we held a dusk bat-watching event, partnering with Bat Conservation Trust and Sustainably Muslim. The evening included a tour of the gardens and farmyard, a wander with bat detectors, a prayer space + mats in the tent for evening Maghrib, lots of sweet Mishti for people to share, and water steeped in farm mint.
The event was attended by around 30 people, and one Common Pipistrelle was heard and spotted. All in all everyone had a great time, and we are really looking forward to welcoming both Sustainably Muslim and Bat Conservation Trust back to the Farm soon.
Image: Hannah van Hesteren from BCT talking to us about bat habitats, species, and habits.
Woodshop of Recycled Delights - woodworking at the Farm
In September we also hosted the Woodshop of Recycled Delights, who teach basic and advanced woodworking tools and techniques for free in local London neighbourhoods. This fabulous bunch of people transformed a load of old pallets into two planters in two hours together, while learning lifelong skills and building community.
They said: "We had a great time yesterday at the workshop - thanks so much - you guys were fantastic and we could not have asked for better hosts and space."
Both planters have been generously donated to the farm.
News from our Friends
Deen City Farm recently featured on the BBC due to unexpected emergency costs hitting their farm finances hard. They do some incredible work at Deen City Farm, so if you feel able, please consider donating to their fundraiser by clicking here.
The Farm is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10.00am to 4.30pm.
We look forward to welcoming you soon!