Aughrim farm hosts social farming event
A farm in Aughrim drew visitors recently from across the country to hear about social farming.
Ballycreen Farm in Aughrim was the venue for the Social Farming Ireland open day. Around 90 people gathered to hear Lesley and Stephen Jones share their experiences of opening the doors of their farm to people from services such as Sunbeam House and Tiglin Addiction services. Lesley spoke about the contribution of the participants in the project. One lady has taken responsibility for the care of the rescue hens, while one of the participants from Tiglin House takes great pride in the maintenance of the farmyard and was there on the open day to assist.
Stephen Jones said they ‘always wanted to help and support people. Social farming gives us the opportunity to share the farm.’
Social farming offers people who are socially, physically, mentally or intellectually disadvantaged the opportunity to spend time on a family farm in a healthy, supportive and inclusive environment. The participating farms are not specialised treatment farms, but working farms which volunteer and provide a space for individuals to spend time socialising and carrying out activities that interest them.
Eamonn Maher, a social farmer from Co. Kilkenny spoke about the benefits of social farming to farmers as well as participants. He talked about the satisfaction of making a difference to people’s lives.
‘I think I get as much or more out of it as the participants do,’ Mr Maher said.
Regional Development Officer for Social Farming Ireland, Andrew Chilton said he is keen to get more farmers in Wicklow involved in social farming. He said, ‘We are seeing increased interest and demand from services in exploring this opportunity for the people they work with. To meet this demand, we are looking for farmers throughout the county who think they might have the time, the skills and the interest to get in touch with us to start their social farming journey.’
Further information is available on Social Farming Ireland’s website at www. socialfarmingireland.ie.