Care Farm Activities
Every activity at Willow Tree Farming has a purpose. Whether it’s caring for animals, growing vegetables, building a bird box or exploring the woodland, each experience is designed to help young people develop confidence, independence and practical life skills in a supportive, hands-on environment.
Our activities are tailored to each individual’s interests, abilities and personal goals, encouraging responsibility, teamwork, communication, problem-solving and emotional wellbeing along the way. As a working family farm, every day brings new opportunities to learn, achieve and discover the satisfaction that comes from meaningful, purposeful work in nature.
Animal Care
We offer a wide range of animal-based activities on the farm, which focus on helping the young people to build their self-confidence, decision making skills, teaches them responsibility and gives them opportunities to learn practical skills in a fun way.
Some of these tasks include focusing on the health care of the animals – such as, feeding, daily water checks, providing hay etc, grooming and foot trimming. This could also include the young people observing vet visits or the animals being shorn. General maintenance tasks include shelter cleaning, poo picking and general paddock up keep.
We also have a variety of animals who love to go on walks around the farm and short adventures in the woodland area.
Equine Care
We also offer the opportunity for the young people on the farm to gain a clearer understanding of the horse’s welfare needs and allow them to take part in everyday routine tasks such as, feeding, grooming, learning tack/tack cleaning, health care, in-hand schooling and playing games.
Garden/Horticulture
Young people take part in a varied selection of horticultural tasks, which we hope will widen their understanding of where food comes from and teach them valuable life skills. We aim to do this in our vegetable patch area, where they can choose to grow their own fruit, veg, herbs or flowers, promoting decision making, practical and social skills.
Our sensory garden also provides a calming outdoor space where young people can explore nature through activities such as planting, digging and caring for a variety of herbs and flowers, supporting wellbeing and sensory needs.
Woodwork/Construction
We aim for the young people to learn skills that they may be able to adapt, apply and use in their everyday lives. For example, shelter building, fencing/mending fencing, building and mending animal enclosures, designing and building bird boxes, bird hides and picnic areas/benches.
Woodland Area and Conservation
Within our Woodland area, there are a variety of projects for the young people to get involved with including den building, nature watching/identifying, identify plants/trees, build bug hotels, obstacle courses, fire pits and picnic areas. We also encourage young people to identify and safely use various tools.
Other conservation projects include clearing work areas, tree/wildflower planting, hedge planting, pond digging, animal hides/providing new wildlife habitats, bug hotels etc.
Farm Maintenance
There are jobs to be, including grass cutting/strimming, fence repair, weed control, pest control, paddock building and preparation.
Farm Mechanics
Learn the mechanics of farm machinery and how these pieces of equipment are used in everyday farm life. Learn how to repair /service farm machinery.
