Share your love of nature - become an environmental enthusiast
We need local people, with a passion for the environment, to help host farmers enthuse visitors about the great outdoors! Whether you have a passion for birds, plants, bugs or larger animals, we would love to hear from you. Even if you just had time to attend a visit as a ‘one-off’, we would welcome your involvement. Our experience so far is that visits are just as rewarding and enjoyable for volunteers as they are for visitors!
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"I enjoyed my day volunteering very much and found that by encouraging others to explore the farm by using their senses allowed me to do just the same, and I felt a lot more connected to the farm. The best part of the day for me was just standing in silence and listening to the sounds around me. I remember thinking that the sounds I was hearing are not the everyday sounds I hear at home and that it was a pleasant, calming change.
I think that the group that attended found it fun to get out of the city and explore the countryside in new ways. They were all telling me how they enjoyed stroking the animals and how different the sheep’s wool feels to spun wool. By far the main merit to those that attended was that engaging some of their senses helped them to form stronger memories of their day. However I also believe that by engaging more of their senses it helped them to be more inquisitive and therefore to be able to ask more questions."
Cassie Elliott
Volunteer Environmental Enthusiast
Farmeco Community Carefarm
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The project is able to reimburse your travel expenses. There are also a range of resources (discovery bags, activity books and audio trails) available to help enhance the quality of a sensory rich farm visit. So go on, get in touch, we’d love to hear from you!
You can find out more about by emailing james.taylor@leafuk.org or phone 02476 413911.
Work with communities – become a community connector
Would you like to be a key part of this national project? Are you good with people from different backgrounds?
We are looking for volunteer Community Connectors in all eight regions of England (West Midlands, East Midlands, North West, North East, Yorkshire and Humber, East of England, South East, South West).
What can you do?
- Work with Regional Co-ordinators to ensure that the visits are planned and organised to a high quality, providing groups with an enjoyable experience that takes account of their specific needs
- Build relationships with and between community and disability groups
- Help to organise and take part in farm visits
- Represent the needs of older, young, and disabled people
We are also interested in hearing from people who would like to be involved in the project but with a smaller level of commitment, for example as a potential contact for advice and guidance on hosting a visit for a particular group of people with specific needs.
If you would like to become a community connector please contact Jen Bartlett at the Sensory Trust – jbartlett@sensorytrust.org.uk
