Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.
St Columba’s Heritage Farmstead is a working community farm. We are always delighted when members of the community wish to join in and help with the remodelling of the farm. We have had many enquires over the last few year from people, asking how they can get involved with the work. In response, we have created ‘monthly community volunteer days’, so that anyone wishing to get their hands dirty and join in the fun of transforming the farm, can come and get involved.
So every last Saturday of the month, not including December, we shall meet and work together on revolutionising this 23 acre farm from a mono cropped oat and cattle farm, into a thriving hub of sustainability, conservation and proliferation of wildlife, and community life.
What kind of activities you can expect to be involved with?
General work and maintenance is a never ending job here at Chanctonbury and will include all of the below and more.
- Hedge planting
- Preparing fields for grazing
- Cutting back over growth and landscaping and planting wild flowers
- Working in the community garden, planting and harvesting crops
- Tree planting and caring for the Chanctonbury Forest Garden
- Fencing work and repairs
- Ditch repairs and restoration of the water courses
- Bee-keeping (seasonal)
- Working with our flock of rare breed sheep The Wild Ones. Depending on the the time of year we may be lambing, shearing, or rounding up and undertaking general health checks.
Dates of Community Volunteer Days
Our Community Volunteer Days take place on the last Saturday of every month (we are not including December). Dates for the next 12 months are listed below. They are also displayed on our Facebook Page
2022
- 29 January
- 26February
- 26 March
- 30 April
- 28 May
- 25 June
- 30 July
- 27 August
- 24 September
- 29 October
- 26 November
Instructions for arriving
When you arrive please park in the Chanctonbury Ring carpark. St Columba’s Farm is less than 500 yards from the carpark. Our days will begin at 9.30 with prayer, followed by the allocation of the days tasks. Lunch will be in the community garden or Great Barn (depending on weather) at 12.30. We aim to resume for the afternoon at 1.30 and work through till 4pm.
COVID-19
Naturally we are all concerned about the situation with COVID and the impact it is having upon community life. We take this seriously. Therefore we will be asking people to work in family groups, or groups of no more than six. We would ask that all volunteers act in a responsible and socially distanced way through out the day. Our aim is to create a safe, secure and enjoyable day for everyone involved.
What to Bring.
Please bring sturdy shoes, preferably water proof, work clothes as you will get dirty, a pack lunch as we are not sharing food at the moment due to COVID. Bring your own gardening gloves as again we are not sharing gloves due to COVID.
Our volunteer days will be great fun, rewarding and help to build that vital sense of community ownership of St Columba’s Farm. You, your family and community are always welcome and thank you for considering volunteering with us. We look forward to welcoming you soon.
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