St Werburghs City Farm
Boiling Wells Project
In 2001, the Boiling Wells site was an abandoned pig farm and St Werburghs City Farm has transformed this smallholding into a beautiful green oasis with an active youth and community-engagement project. We built a traditional, timber-framed barn made from locally-sourced larch from the Forest of Avon with reclaimed glass bottles in the cornices. All of our electricity on site is generated by solar panels. Our cob oven, renovated orchard and kitchen garden provide a brilliant means of exploring seasonality and self-sufficiency with children and young people. Young people and volunteers have helped develop the site and together we've created a turf sofa, living willow tunnel and roundhouse, a camping terrace, fire serpent seating area, composting toilets and raised beds. We are currently transforming part of the two acre Boiling Wells site in to an outdoor amphitheatre and education space which has been part-funded by the National Heritage Lottery Fund.
Currently we run the following projects at the Boiling Wells:
The Creative Woodshop
A carpentry project which runs during term time on Tuesdays for young people aged 14 to 18 who are disengaged or excluded from school. The program generates a highly supportive environment where students gain experience with a range of tools and practical skills. Young people build their confidence through achieving physical results, team work, improved communication, problem solving, planning and design. We have free places available funded by targeted Positive Activities for participants until March 31st 2010.
Thursday Club
An open-access youth club that has been running at this site since 2005. Activities include camping, bush crafts, environmental art projects, film workshops with Plastic Buddha Productions.
Outdoor Amphitheatre
Over the past two years we have been building an outdoor amphitheatre on the Boiling Wells site. The project is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and in March 2009 will be near completion. We will be holding community events and plays on the site as well as using it as an additional teaching space for our programs.
Summer Camp
This Summer we are running an environmental education summer day camp for 9 to 11 year olds to help them learn about nature in their local environment, about animals at the farm and to simply enjoy the great outdoors. Children will spend the week at the Boiling Wells nature reserve, the main farm site and one day hiking and studying the following: team building activities, pond dipping and microscope use, phytoplankton, zoo plankton, watersheds and the water cycle, habitats, plant and tree professor hikes, bird identification, using binoculars and their journal. They will make pizzas in the cob oven, learn about fire by friction, photosynthesis and food webs. At the farm they will collect eggs and make omelettes, feed and muck out the farm animals, compost, and learn about animal adaptations. Many of the teaching methods and curriculum will be tied in to key stage one and two national science curriculum and will be taught in a fun, hands-on and interactive way.
Childrens Parties
St.Werburghs City Farm hires out the barn at Boiling Wells for childrens parties. The barn is available for one party per weekend at £10 per hour (min 2 hours) and the age limit is up to 8 years old. For more information please contact Victoria Siddle-Virok, the Environmental Education and Youth Work Manager. Please note there is a £100 cash deposit required for this type of hire.
Workshops for Primary Schools
Activities include: traditional crafts, storytelling, natural crafts, bush craft skills as well as heritage and sensory trails.
Traditional Seasonal Celebrations
These celebrations for the local community include wassails, May Day, storytelling events, Apple Day and a Mummer's Play.
Outreach Sessions
These are held on site and in the local community.
Taster Sessions and Team Challenge
Projects for young adults who are not in employment, education or training.
Volunteer Opportunities
Opportunities for the local community to learn about self sufficiency, conservation and horticulture.
If you are interested in finding out more about Boiling Wells and visiting the site, then please contact Victoria Siddle-Virok, Environmental Education and Youth Work Manager at St Werburgh's City Farm on Tel: 0117 942 8241 or email: youth@swcityfarm.co.uk.
The Boiling Wells Project has been funded by the National Heritage Lottery, Bristol City Council and The Henry Smith Charity.