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If you would like to receive a copy of our all singing, all dancing newsletter, in glorious colour and with pictures, please consider becoming a friend of Bath City Farm. This only costs £8 a year (concessions available). You will be helping to support our running costs, e.g. salaries, site work, newsletter and of course our animals.

Hello from Diane

Hi my name is Di – I started working at the farm just before Christmas and have been busy filing, tidying up the office and getting to know the animals. I’m very excited about working in such a wonderful environment, everyone has been very welcoming and I’ve been extremely impressed by the commitment of the Volunteers, Trustees and Staff Team.

I moved to the South West eighteen months ago to take up a temporary post with the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens and I hope to be able to use this experience to support the Trustees to put the farm on a more stable and sustainable footing. This is an exciting time in the Environmental Sector; with a growing public awareness of the importance of Green Space and eco-learning. The farm is well placed to take advantage of some of the funding streams now available for those areas of work, which would enable it to build on the valuable work it has already done and plan for the future.

Animal Update

Things at the farm have been going very well, Ashley and her kids Kashmir and Katie are fine and growing up quickly, Kashmir had a problem with a bad habit of head butting and fighting with the other goats as he was not castrated properly, but he was taken to the vets and now he is behaving very well. We are going to start training Katie and Kashmir to wear a collar and walk on a lead, this means we can take them to shows and handle them better.

We have a new goat Becky who has been with us a few months, she is a rescue goat that was tethered for most of her life, we are unsure how old she is or where she originally came from, but we think she is a golden Guernsey, British saanen cross. She had not seen another goat before she came here and the first few weeks she was very shy of the other animals and people but now she is getting much more confident. She is now part of the group and she will come up to you and take food from your hand, she is still a little shy but in a few more months she should be fine.

As you will see Molly has had 7 piglets, they are all boys, which means they will go for pork when they are 6 months old and Molly is doing very well.

The sheep are all pregnant by our male Soay sheep Zippy; we should be expecting lambs in April-May time. The ducks and chickens are doing fantastic with chicks and ducklings expected in the springtime. Dudley our tame duck is well and she has started laying her first eggs, she does look a bit moth eaten at the moment as she has been having lots of interest from our male ducks but she is fine.

By Lizzie Doughty, work experience student

Piglets Arrive!

Molly our Tamworth Pig gave us all a lovely Christmas this year, giving birth to seven healthy piglets in the early hours of Christmas morning. The drama started to unfold on Christmas eve when Sarah, a local trustee, phoned us up and said Molly was digging up big clumps of muddy roots and taking mouthfuls back and forth into her sty - sure signs of nest making. We grabbed our sleeping bags and rushed to the farm to prepare for the long night ahead.

We checked on Molly every hour and just before 11pm Christmas eve it all started. First a nose, then ears, then one minute later a healthy piglet dried off and tasting it’s mothers milk. This went on with no major problems, one piglet every half hour. By 3am Christmas day we had seven, a very enjoyable night.

Since the birth we have had lots of visitors including many children.  An important aspect of the farm is teaching children about meat production. When given the choice of a bacon butty made from pigs that have never seen daylight, or from pigs with the best view in Bath, living in their family group until the inevitable end, I know what I’d choose.

Kedric Fisher
Community Farmer

Schools and Groups

Since the Community and Education Post came to an end, the work with the school groups is being carried on by current members of Staff.

Three ways School, The Link and Hayesfield School are still bringing weekly groups up to the farm to enjoy the benefits of being outdoors and getting close to the animals.

So far this year we have been spending a lot of time with the piglets and giving Molly lots of grass for a treat.

Three ways School who come every Friday have built wormeries, made bird feeders, planted some winter onions and had lots of fun bringing Bart the Sheep down to the building on a lead.

Hayesfield School have been working on a soft fruit bed, so far they have weeded, dug over and manured the bed in preparation to plant some raspberries and strawberries. 

The Link who have been away for several weeks over winter have built wormeries and we are looking forward to running some exciting projects with them over the next few months.

With the coming spring we hope to have lots of one- off school visits from the local and wider schools. If you are interested in your school or group visiting the farm please call the office. 

Volunteers Update

The past few months have seen volunteers working in all weathers to improve and maintain areas around the farm. Since the summer Bath Mind and the Genesis Project have been working together to bring groups of volunteers to the farm. Here is an article written by them:

We seemed to have proved ourselves to be good workers over the summer as we were invited back in the autumn to help with planting a new orchard. We have all enjoyed helping to select the trees, considering taste, yield and looks, in a lively discussion. We chose a good cross section of different types. Then we chose where to plant them and helped clear the ground in readiness for planting. New tree protectors have been built too. These needed to be substantial structures with the goats around. Digging post- holes is as good an all over body exercise as you could wish for, (in other words hard work!). Its worth it though as the fruits of our labours will be there for generations to come.  This last statement is no exaggeration.
One client from the Genesis Trust wrote “ It has been ideal for me; I have gained in confidence and learnt some new skills in the work environment. It’s no pressure approach enables volunteers like me to experience a sense of participation, and achievement in the outdoor world. So far I have helped with tasks such as pruning, cutting grass, fence repair, and feeding and caring for the goats and pigs.

I have worked on the farm many times in the summer and at the end of the day left feeling clear headed and positive. It’s a good and friendly environment open to everyone. There is absolutely no pressure to perform, and you can work for as long as you like. A picnic of sandwiches cakes and teas is a great treat and helps you work.”  

The orchard project was able to take place with funding from the lottery’s Breathing Places grant.

Monday volunteers have also been very busy. They have restored the wildlife pond, which is now looking very healthy, cut back the hedges,  cleared lots of bramble for m the cow fields, started digging a new herb bed, looked after the animals and much more. A big thankyou to all of them. We all enjoyed a great Christmas skittles night out with trustees and members of staff.

Thank You

We would like to thank the Round Table who have donated £2000 to the farm. The money will be used to rejuvenate the chicken area, i.e. new path, fencing etc.  They were very kind in inviting Gerry Curran, Chair of Trustees and Sarah Rees, Vice chair to a meal in January where they heard all about the Farm and it’s projects.

Combe Down Ladies Club have also raised money for the farm. We are not yet sure of the sum at going to press, but they tell me it was one of their best fundraising years yet.

Bath Victoria Park Bowls Club have chosen the farm to raise funds for this year and we will be giving them a talk in March about the Farm’s work.

We would also like to thank Bill Brown and Ann Britten for donating money towards the upkeep of the animals.