Welcome to the July update from Growing Care Farming 

Greetings from the Growing Care Farming team

Fifteen weeks on from the announcement of lock down and we are emerging into a world that feels quite different to the one we shut the door on.  Recovery, restoration, adaptation, transformation, new normal – these are all words we’re now starting to hear on a daily basis as lock down begins to ease, and whatever we call it, we are now moving in to the next phase of this pandemic and starting to look to the future.  The Red Cross reports that although social distancing and lock down measures continue to be eased, loneliness will remain and, for some, continue to grow. How we best support those attending care farms, from our participants/co-workers/service users to our staff and volunteers is at the front our minds as farms reopen - balancing the importance of protecting physical health alongside supporting good mental health through human connection and interaction. There are opportunities to explore this further, both at our themed webinar next week and at our next Online Care Farming Network meeting (details below).

Our work on Growing Care Farming has not been immune from the need to change and adapt.  With COVID-19 being no respecter of regional geography, our work has moved to a more centralised delivery model, enabling care farmers from all over the country to participate now, rather than waiting for the phased regional roll-out in the original GCF delivery plan. We feel that this change, together with the increase in central support and resources and the resumption of a smaller number of face-to-face activities in each region from 2021, will enable the maximum number of people to benefit. This more inclusive approach will continue to raise awareness of care farming at regional events, but will also concentrate on more online events and resource development - whilst maintaining the all-important national advocacy for our sector. 

So we will be offering monthly opportunities on our Online Care Farming Network meetings, which will take place on the third Thursday of every month and we will continue with our monthly themed webinars. These email updates will continue, but going forward will take on the form of a newsletter and include relevant funding opportunities, news and updates associated with the north, central belt and south of England, in line with the changes we are making to communicating with our regional networks. 

As we move into 2021 we will start face-to-face events again and we look forward to sharing our programme with you in the autumn.

In this month's Update:

• Events
• Training
• Covid-19 support
• Other news
   

Upcoming Webinars and Online Meetings

July's GCF Themed Webinar - Reducing COVID-19 Risks and Re-opening your Care Farm

With lock down restrictions gradually being eased many care farms are hoping to open their doors again to service users, but it's essential that they think about how to ensure they also reduce the risks related to COVID-19. This webinar will talk through the checklist which has been developed by the GCF team and care farming Code of Practice assessors to enable care farms to confidently review their working practices and put measures in place to reduce risks before re-opening.

The webinar takes place on Tuesday 14th July from 2.00-3.00pm. To book your place follow the link below.

Book here - Reducing COVID-19 risks and re-opening your care farm

July's Online Care Farming Network meeting

This is chance to see and meet other care farmers 'face to face' but remotely! The aim is to provide a forum for care farmers, prospective care farmers, the GCF team and others to support each other and to share learning and ideas.

July's Care Farming Network meeting will take place on Thursday 16th July from 10.30am to 11.30am on GoTo Meeting. To book your place at this meeting click on the link below.

Book here - July Online Care Farming Network Meeting
 

Training

FREE GCF Online Training is live!

We are delighted to announce that the online training, developed with our partners Thrive, is now available and ready to access on the Social Farms and Gardens website.

• Principles of Care Farming covers the origins of care farming, where it fits within green care, working with service users, referrals and more about how care farming works. It is a simple, easy access resource on our webpages that gives a useful overview and background to the subject.
• Starting with Care Farming is designed for those interested in setting up a care farm - it will give you an introduction into care farming, what you might need to consider when setting up, and some guidance on how to get into care farming. This is the first course in the online programme of training delivered as part of the Growing Care Farming Project by Thrive, and follows on from Principles of Care Farming (above). if you have not yet visited this site, we recommend doing this prior to enrolling on this course.
• Developing Good Practice in Care Farming will give you a more detailed look at care farming, and developing good practice on your farm, whether you are new to care farming, or whether you have already set up your farming practice.

All these courses are free to access and Thrive are currently working on developing the face-to-face training (which was piloted earlier this year) into a blended learning package to enable remote access. We are also developing the Introduction to the Code information and we will let you know when it's 'live'. We look forward to receiving feedback on these courses and are very grateful to both Thrive and the many care farmers for their input and time during development.
 

Covid -19: Guidance, Events & Information

Checklists and Guidance

Just a reminder that there is a range of useful support and resources on the Growing Care Farming pages including our Risk Assessment Checklist specifically aimed at care farms.  There is also some handy signage suggestions and a reopening glossary available on the main SF&G site.

SF&G COVID-19 webinars - All available to watch again online

As well as the GCF themed webinars SF&G have been delivering a programme of webinars from the start of lock down based on needs and questions raised by all members in a recent survey. Don't forget that you can watch any of the webinar recordings as and when suits you. With webinars on cash flow forecasting, writing funding applications, land issues, risk management and the post COVID future there is something for everybody.

Watch here - SF&G COVID-19 Webinars
 

The Farmers Weekly has also produced some useful advice for managing and keeping staff safe.

Other News

SF&G Members Facebook Group

Just a reminder that the Social Farms and Gardens Members Facebook group is the ideal place for you to ask questions and chat informally about almost any topic. With around 500 members to date it's a closed group for SF&G members and those working in the sector to support each other. All content and discussions in this group are led by the group’s members. SF&G’s role is to provide a platform where this can happen, so please ask each other questions, ask for support, and share your challenges, ideas and inspiration.

Join here - Social Farms & Gardens Members Facebook Group

Stay safe everyone and keep in touch with us.  We love to hear from you!
 

You can send general enquiries to [email protected] or you can contact Debbie and Rachel on [email protected]