Shropshire educational farm upgrades facilities thanks to £15,000 grant
Staff at a Shropshire farm have reflected on a £15,000 funding boost, which they say has had a huge 'positive' impact on its users.
Lower Bush Farm, near Ludlow, has received the funding from Shropshire Council in the wake of the pandemic, to repair and upgrade its facilities.
The farm welcomes local people, children and those with learning difficulties to provide opportunities for them to learn about farming, gain work experience, meet and look after animals, and develop rural and social skills.
Prior to the grant, the farm was facing a real danger of becoming uninhabitable, and may have had to close – it needed essential repairs to its roof and flooring.
But thanks to council funding, the farm can stay open and continue to be a safe and comfortable environment for visitors.
Rowanna Britten from the farm said: “The funding has allowed us to insulate the roof and visitors already noticed how much warmer the barn is.
"It means that we can offer service users a warm place during the colder months and the option to work inside or outside depending on the weather, as not all people are outdoorsy.
“The warm barn also means we’ve been able to dry timber much easier, which allowed us to deliver a variety of festive projects to our service users in the build-up to Christmas.
"Groups of teenagers were able to get involved with woodwork activities such as making candle holders and decorations, all of which were harvested from branches from our woods onsite.
“This inside space has made a huge impact on the types of jobs we can offer service users. We now always have several ongoing woodwork projects for different groups, and the barn is being used a lot more.
"The funding has had such a positive impact upon our service users and to our business and we are incredibly grateful.”
The funding was secured from the Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG) scheme and administered by Shropshire Council.
The ARG is a government-funded initiative set up to support community groups in delivering services of community value throughout the pandemic and beyond.
Cecilia Motley, Shropshire Council’s cabinet member for adult social care, public health and communities, said: “The work of venues such as Lower Bush Farm have such a positive impact upon our local people, and provides opportunities for them to gain experience and connect with others.
"I’m really pleased the barn is now thriving and can offer a whole host of interesting projects and activities for its service users.”
