Wendell Park
City Farms

Hello. My name is Hizra and this is Ceyhun. We have come here today to present the work we have been doing on our project on City farms. It is a subject we have researched and studied over the last 2 months and we are pleased to be here to tell the panel our points of view.

We first decided to find out how many people in the class had been to a city farm. There were only 3 people who had been to one, so the first thing we thought to do was to go and look at city farms.

Firstly we went to Kentish Town city farm. We had a tour and learnt what city farms do. We loved seeing all the animals and were surprised that the farm was so similar to a farm in the country. All the jobs you would expect to see around a farm took place, such as milking of cows, collecting chickens’ eggs and our least favourite job - mucking out the horses!

Next we visited Vauxhall city farm. As well as the farm animals, there are also animals you would normally have as pets such as rabbits and ferrets. Some chicks had just been born and were only 4 days old. We were allowed to hold them, but we had to be very careful, because they were so fragile. Vauxhall city farm also has a classroom.

We then discussed our opinions within the class. Of all the 23 pupils, only 1 wasn’t sure whether a city farm would be a good idea in Hammersmith and Fulham. He was concerned about space and where the farm could be built. We then thought we would devise a questionnaire to survey other people’s opinions in the school. If there were support for a city farm we would then investigate possible space in our local area.

We asked 173 children. 84% didn’t even know what a city farm was, let alone had visited one. We had to explain in detail what a city farm was. We then asked questions about would people visit frequently and would they be interested in volunteering to help. We also mentioned that there could be a classroom where activities such as arts and crafts as well as learning about animals could take place. When we had explained all the facts to pupils, a fantastic 91% wanted a city farm.

Now we knew a local city farm was such a popular idea we had to consider where an appropriate space to accommodate the building might be. We looked at maps of the local area and found that Wormwood Scrubs had a huge green space. It also had a history of being used by farm animals.

We then talked to Jason Smythe from the Groundwork Trust. He told us that part of the Scrubs is a special nature reserve for lizards and we talked about where we could build a farm. This could be our next step.

Continuing our research, some pupils sent emails to Burnley in Lancashire and Maastrict in Holland. In Burnley, they are also trying to start a city farm and we were interested to see how their project was going as well as any possible problems that may have encountered. In Maastrict, they already have a city farm next to the school.

The children told us they loved having a city farm and visited it regularly, both with the school and with their families. Every Wednesday, the pupils have activities at the city farm and every month, two volunteers from the school are chosen to help out on the farm. One of the pupils wrote that in 1 year, over 50 000 people visited the city farm.

At present, there are 17 city farms in London. Boroughs without a farm are being asked if there are any plans to develop a city farm. Last Monday, four pupils were invited to attend the GLA’s launch on city farms to put a case forward for our own farm in Hammersmith and Fulham. We got a chance to speak to Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London and present our findings to the Greater London Assembly. It was an exciting event and a clear case for a city farm in Hammersmith and Fulham was put forward.

I think city farms are very educational because people can learn about animals and different environments. It seems like you are in the countryside. Children like us can learn what different animals eat and can take part in activities like riding lessons, an arts centre and a playing area. Everyone can go to a city farm. It is for young and old people. The city farm can also benefit less able people by specialising in horse riding for the disabled. There is usually a wildlife garden as well as a vegetable garden where local people are encouraged to come and help look after the garden as well as being able to grow plants.

We realise there are always things that have to be considered when undertaking a project such as starting a new city farm. We know that the main problem is the cost to run a farm, but there are 17 other working city farms in London that are proving they can run effectively and efficiently. While it is important to support these other city farms, it would be brilliant to have a farm in Hammersmith and Fulham.

A beautiful, green and fun place to learn,
A piece of the countryside,
For all the community.