Often the only sounds are the rustle of trees, birdsong, and the chatter of children, young people and staff as they play,  explore, and work together. For many of our students, the combination of the calm and spending time in nature is where everything else begins. 

When asked what the best thing he'd grown on the Care Farm was, one student answered: "Myself, because it includes everything else" – a Year 6 student.

What is a Care Farm?

A Care Farm is a working outdoor setting where learning happens through hands-on activities. Our Care Farms work with children and young people with complex and diverse needs, including mental ill-health, social and communication difficulties, and those needing emotional support. Wiltshire Wildlife Trust currently runs three Care Farms; our first was Lakeside in north Wiltshire on our Lower Moor Farm Nature Reserve, the second was The Willows just outside Melksham in west Wiltshire, and earlier this year, we opened the latest Care Farm – Cherry Tree Lodge, in the south near Salisbury, situated on Parsonage Down National Nature Reserve. 

A day for our students at our Care Farms might include caring for animals, growing vegetables, conservation work, farming tasks, wild play or Forest School activities. Each one offers time outside with therapeutic, meaningful learning and real work experience, often for students who have found a classroom difficult.

Why it Works

Our ethos is simple: create calm settings, embedded in nature, where students feel emotionally and physically safe, and we can meet each person where they are. We build on students' strengths and work at their pace. Time and space are our greatest resources.

One mum told us her daughter finds every transition tricky, but relaxes as soon as she arrives at The Willows. "She will offer conversation (which she rarely does) and tells me all about the pigs, her crafts, games, the staff and what she is growing. It is genuinely the highlight of her week."

The benefits don't stop with the student. We see the effects of time at our Care Farms reaching parents, carers, schools and the wider networks around each young person. One grandad told our team that his grandson was thriving at his new school thanks to his time at The Willows, and that the farm had taught him, as a grandparent, how best to support a neurodivergent child.

Ten Years and Growing

Lakeside Care Farm, on our Lower Moor Farm Nature Reserve in north Wiltshire, opened in November 2016. It was a direct response to the need for individualised, nature-based alternative education across Wiltshire, Swindon and Gloucestershire.

"Lakeside Care Farm is the only provision that our child has been able to sustain and this is because they feel safe and supported." – parents of a Lakeside student.

Building on what we learned at Lakeside, and again in response to need, we opened The Willows, near Melksham, in November 2020. Both are now recognised as thriving, effective settings.

This term, we opened our third care farm, Cherry Tree Lodge near Salisbury, and welcomed our first two students there. It brings what we've learned over a decade to the south of the county.

Looking Ahead

Ten years on, the need for this kind of learning is greater than ever. We're proud of every student who has found their feet at our Care Farms, and of the staff, volunteers and supporters who made it possible.

Want to play your part? Donations to our Connecting People with Nature Fund will go towards our work with children and young people across Wiltshire.