As a small registered children’s charity, we rely on the generosity of different people. Some donate much needed funds, some purchase or donate brand new goods and still others offer us things which they no longer need. We are not always able to use the things that people offer us, but often we can. Our new potting (or propagation) shed is one of those donations of something someone no longer needed. A generous member of our local community had the frames and were not able to use them, so they offered them to us. Over the last 6 months or so our new potting shed has been built by staff and volunteers and now we have an amazingly functional space which has freed up other areas of the farm in the process.
Our potting shed is a place to store the things we need for seeding, planting and garden work in general. However, our gardener, Andrew, has also set up the potting shed specifically with the young people in mind. We are aware that some of the young people who come to the farm have had difficulty learning in standard education settings, and so we aim to help the young people develop skills in non-traditional ways. Andrew has set it up so the whole process, from preparing the soil, to seeding, to potting and planting, is easy to follow regardless of the reading ability of the young person. It is about engaging a young person without putting undue pressure or expectation on them, and for those who are not yet reading, offers them the opportunity to pre-read when following Andrew’s colour coded and image system. It provides them the chance to achieve success without fear of failure.
Everything we do at the farm is geared toward firstly supporting the young people, building trust and engaging them in ways which foster both safety and confidence, and then build on their self-esteem. Our new potting shed is another way we can now do this. Thank you so much to the kind and generous community member that has made this possible and everyone who has worked on our shed. Your support helps us to support kids in need.
If you would also like to partner with us in our life-impacting work with kids in need, you can donate here…
