Vallis Farm Education Centre - CIC

Vallis Farm Education Centre - CIC

Vallis Farm Education Centre is an initiative set up by Vallis Farm to help us achieve our objectives of being a benefit to our local community, to improve biodiversity and to a be place to learn. We on the team live right here in Frome and many of us and bringing up our families here too. We’ve seen many changes to the town over this time, a lot beneficial, but we also see the need, particularly for its young folk. So we have set up the CIC to raise funds. These will enable us to:

• Improve access to nature connection for the whole community through free community days at the farm and for teens in particular through the running of our youth club, which provides subsided and free spaces for 12-16 year olds. We also hope to offer work placements to children of secondary school age so they can gain practical skills and a good understanding of the working world. Land based careers are a viable and increasingly necessary option. But getting into them isn’t so easy if you’re not already connected.

• Improve educational opportunities for the town and in the land based sector by running accredited and fully qualified courses including apprenticeships.

• Improve the situation for those who have left school or university but find themselves out of work by offering placements on the farm through DWP and regular volunteering on the land. This will give them the opportunity to improve their skills and employability but also boost their confidence.

• Help tackle climate change and improve biodiversity through meaningful action. All the above initiatives involve working on the land, creating habitat, growing food without chemicals and sequestering carbon.