November 2010 Issue 1

WELCOMETOTHEVERYFIRSTHEELEYCITYFARMNEWSLETTER!
WELCOME to the first Heeley City Farm newsletter. This is an exciting time for Heeley City Farm as we approach our 30th anniversary in 2011. Heeley City Farm is already well known and recognised citywide (youthwork, working with adults with learning difficulties, adult training, community development, volunteering, environmental activities, Farm Kitchen and the Garden Centre) and nationally (local food, sustainable energy and fuel poverty, city farming, care farming and community archaeology). In 2011 we are already committed to constructing a new childrens playground and re-building our toilet block. We alsoplantohaveabigbirthday summer music event, in July, an oral history of the farm, and a Heeley City Farm book for Xmas 2011 and much more.

Young people aim for awards

YOUNGpeople on vocational placements have been learning about safe animal restraint, health checking techniques, team building, feeding and goat health. The students, who started in the new academic term have settled in well and are gaining credits towards their Award in Countryside Skills. Iain Jones, youth worker, said: Sometimes the sheep just get the better of ewe. Iain Jones demonstrating how to be restrained by a sheep! THREE new Soay sheep arrived at the farm in September. On Sunday 26th, staff went to Hillside Farm, near Ashbourne, and bought the female sheep called Samphire, Bogbean and Heather. At six years old, Samphire is the elder of the trio, Bogbean the youngest at just four months old and Heather is in the middle at two years of age. They will be able to mix with Basil and the other Soay sheep in a couple of weeks, after settling in.

John Le Corney
Chief Executive

New sheep welcomed to the farm

Local Food Project

Heeley City Farm has been practising and promoting food grown locally and organically for many years. The Local Food Project enables us to give support to the many individuals and organisations throughout South Yorkshire, as well as grow and market lots more produce. Organic: We use natural fertilisers like compost and manure to grow healthy and nutritious plants. Fresh Produce: We regularly market our crops at farmers markets, two greengrocers local restaurants and at our special events. We also supply the farms own caf/restaurant. Education and Training: We provide a range of courses and workshops throughout the season at our main project sites. Our volunteering days also present an excellent opportunity to pick up skills, knowledge and confidence to grow your own. Community: We provide advice and consultation to schools and other groups who wish to develop their own local food growing projects.

Autumn Show Report

THE LEGENDARY annual Autumn Show was held on Sunday, 19th September, with hundreds of people attending despite the showers. Crowds were spoilt for choice with a variety of craft and produce stalls, entertainment from local dance troupe Amy's Funky Dancers, vegetable puppet theatre from Madame Zucchini and superb music from Outre Manche. There was a raffle and childrens competitions with prizes generously donated by John Lewis in Sheffield, The Body Shop, Lush, Odeon Cinemas, Co Op and Virgin Active. We invited Rhian Harding, who was SYEC manager until January, back to judge the Produce Show. We had many more entries than last year including home made cakes, jams, chutneys and funny shaped vegetables that people had grown. First prizes of garden centre vouchers were awarded as well as certificates for 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. Abundance brought fruit harvested from local trees to use in our apple press to make fresh fruit juice, and there was plenty of useful advice on organic gardening from the farms gardening Guru Darrell Maryon.

Youth team supervisor Iain Jones demonstrated how to milk a goat, which was a crowd pleaser. All day long the Energy Centre was full with people taking part in the activities there which included making solar powered cars! The Lord Mayor of Sheffield, Councillor Alan Law JP, dropped by for a visit. An enjoyable time was hadbyall and people went away with smiles and stories to tell, especially the children who took part in activities including Vegetable Monsters, Badge Making, Seed Sowing, Face Painting and making Autumn Leaf Faeries. Overall, everyone helped to raise over 1000 for farm funds, so we must thank everyone who was there or who was involved with the day for such a marvellous effort.

Entries from the Produce Show

OutreManche performingattheshow

Someofthevegetablemonsters!

Philip Risdales bird sightings in September

My first sighting of a Nuthatch at Heeley city farm was on Saturday 11th. It was in the trees around the bottom field moving around with a small flock of Blue and Great Tits. As far as I am aware this is a new sighting for Heeley City Farm. The first Jays seem to be coming back with two seen on Monday 20th in trees along the racetrack. A pair of Sparrowhawks are feeding in the area on a regular basis and are seen most days either soaring overhead, or flying low and fast through the hedges and vegetable plots. A single Ring-necked Parakeet passed through the site at 8:15 on Friday 3rd heading north. A skein of 37 Pink-footed Geese flew east at 8:30am on Sunday 26th.

A Tawny Owl was heard on site by the energy centre on the Sunday 19th at around 9:30pm.

A flock of 19 Mistle Thrush and three Song Thrush stopped briefly in Goats field early morning at 7:25am on Tuesday 14th for about 10 minutes. They were then spooked by a passer by and flew off west.

News From The South Yorkshire Energy Centre

Events
In October we visited Sharrow Sure Start Centre, 110 Sharrow Lane, S11 8AL. As part of the Tuesday surprise session Gareth and Sonia delivered a short talk on energy saving and answered questions about saving money at home on fuel bills. The session was very popular with around 40 parents and children receiving information and making recycled paper windmills to take home. If you would like to book a talk or a visit contact us on 0114 3039981. In the first year of the project we have helped over 1,500 children become Fuel busters at schools and at home. We have provided advice and information for over 1,000 parents and helped families all over Sheffield save energy and money. We are looking forward to the next year being even bigger and better! We celebrated throughout the half term holidays and on Halloween with energy saving fun at the roundhouse on the farm. Read all about it in the next newsletter.

STAFFPROFILE

TREFOREVANS

Top drama raises awareness of hate crime

A PERFORMANCE by staff and clients from Heeley City Farms Learning Difficulties and Disabilities (LDD) group was so touching several members of the audience were moved to tears. Their show Be Wise to Crime, held at the Anns Grove Community Centre was the culmination of an eight week long project and explored issues around bullying, street crime and street gangs. Its a brilliant achievement beamed Aloysius Lalloo, the farms LDD manager. They succeeded in getting a very complex subject across in a very real way and the project was truly owned by people with learning difficulties and disabilities. She said. Emma Parum, an Occupational Therapy Masters student on placement at the Farm, set up the drama project. The group scripted the play from discussion and role play using their own personal experiences, and also incorporated a street dance element choreographed by a volunteer from All Stars dance. Everything, including props and sound production, was organised by members of the group. Lee Pearse, the Farms Vocational Skills Programme leader, brought in his production team to film the

By Sarah Hardy

Trefor has worked as a volunteer on the Garden Centre for over ten years. Originally from Kegworth in Leicestershire, he came to Sheffield to study art at the Polytechnic in 1971 and stayed! Trefors love of botanical art led to his developing an interest in gardening and he started volunteering at Heeley City Farm so that he could complete his NVQ in horticulture. He comes in to the Garden Centre almost every morning to water seedlings during the spring and summer. Sharon Claxton, the Garden Centre manager, says that she doesnt know what shed do without him. When Trefor isnt at the farm he indulges in his other passion, steaming photographing steam engines!

event, which will soon be available to view on the Farms website and hopefully will be used by the City Council, the police and other relevant groups to develop the initiative city wide. Hate crimes against people with LDD are rising but often arent reported because the victims are threatened with further violence if they do so or because they simply dont know what to do. If you would like any information about the initiative contact Aloysius Lalloo on 0114 258 0482 or email special@heeleyfarm.org.uk. If you have been affected by a hate crime, call Sheffield police on 0114 220 2020.

Target set for rare breed status

BY THE end of 2011, the farm hopes to have reached rare breed farm park status. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) are still working on the criteria for small holdings and city farms, but by the end of next year it is hoped we will be well on the way to gaining the status. With 60% of the animals on the farm having to be registered rare breeds before we will be ready, excitingly this will involve bringing in new animals! Of course we now have Heather, Bogbean and Samphire. We will also be breeding our endangered Bagot goats in November and buying new Golden Guernsey goats to breed with our billy goat Elvis. We picked three new pigs (a British Lop, the rarest in the UK, a Tamworth, one of the oldest breeds, and a curly coated mangalitsa) from Northmoor rare breeds, which should be on the farm by November. In the new year we will look to buy a small flock of Whitefaced Woodland sheep which are a local Derbyshire breed. As well as this, Phillip is also working on several breeding programmes for rare breed poultry which will be fully up and running in the new year. We already have Cream Leg Barns and Speckled Sussex hens which Phillip bred this year and hopefully there will be lots more new breeds next year.

Terry Knowles 1938 2010

It is with great sadness that we have to announce that Terry Knowles passed away on the 20th April. Terry worked as a volunteer on the Garden Centre at the farm for over twenty years, travelling here from Handsworth four days a week. Lifelong bachelor Terry, who was never without his trademark flat cap, was very generous, often bringing in produce he had grown at home to hand out to fellow workers or donating it to the farm to sell. His death was unexpected and everyone at the farm sends their deepest condolences to his family.

Farm Kitchen in local press

The farm caf received a glowing full-page review in the Sheffield Telegraph last month. Julia Armsrong, from the newspaper, praised the cafe on many counts, including using food grown locally at our sister farm in Wortley and the quality of service provided. Julias verdict was: A great place for a lunch or a fun-packed family outing. Try and leave room for the cake! The caf is open from 10am to 4 pm, seven days a week. Cakes can be baked to order andthecafeis fullygeareduptocaterforchildrensbirthday parties. Formoredetailscallcaf manager, Alison Lewis, on 0114 2580244.

New goats mark the beginning of a new herd

Two new goats, Primrose the British loggenburg closely followed by Honeysuckle the floppy eared Anglo Nubian, arrived over the summer. We will also be getting a new Golden Guernsey in the next few weeks. The aim is to form a herd suitable to take to goat shows, such as the fiercely competitive Bakwell Show. The farm used to be big on the goat showing circuit, the greatest achievement being a British saanen goat, Layla, winning best in show at Harthill carnival in 1989.

Sponsor an animal!
How do you have a pet without having a pet? By sponsoring an animal at the farm! We receive no funding for food, bedding or vet care for the animals - we need 400 a year just to care for Buttercup the Jersey Cow! Your sponsorship donation will help us to give them the care they need. Sponsorship also makes a great gift - its perfect for Christmas! We offer Bronze, Silver and Gold levels of annual sponsorship - just choose your favourite animal or ring the farm on the number below for guidance. Application forms can be obtained from the website or the farm office. For more details contact 0114 258 0482 or email s.hardy@heeleyfarm.org.uk We also welcome school or corporate groups.

Young people receive council letter of congratulations

Young people from the farm have been to a great number of events over the summer. After being invited to the opening of the new moor foot, in July, we took cows, goats and small furry animals. The young people represented the farm brilliantly and were sent a letter of congratulations from the council department who ran the event. They also did similar good work at Niagra police open day.

Christmas Fayre Garden centre announces winter treats

Three new flower types will be available from the garden centre soon. Winter pansies, primulas and violas are on sale from November. Christmas trees will also be available to hire for25. Sharon Claxton and her team have been busy preparing some Winter Planters and baskets for the coming months. Four have already been prepared to see if they take root and will be on sale from November. The Winter Planters contain small conifers, small evergreen shrubs, ivy, pansies and prims. The Winter Baskets contain evergreen, ivy and pansies. Theplantersandbasketsstartfrom8. Anyonewishingtoplaceanordershould call0114 2580482.
Heeley City Farm is a registered Charity No. 1111482. Heeley City Farm is company limited by guarantee without share capital.

Saturday 11 December2010
Fun for all the family with: Santas Grotto. Craft and Produce Stalls. Farm Stalls. Handmade Christmas Wreaths, Colourful Winter Planters and Rent a Christmas Tree in the Garden Centre. Activities include badge making, face painting, Christmas Raffle and The Robin Trail. Fantastic Festive Food and Drink in The Farm Kitchen. Fun activities in The Energy House. Animal Petting in the Small Animal House. Plus there are lots of new animals for you to come and see including Willow the Guernsey Goat Kid. Start time: 11am Endtime: 3pm
Edited by JimCook. Artwork by AndrewPearse. Contributionsbystaffat HeeleyCityFarm.