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Let nature feed your senses - who are we?

Let Nature Feed Your Senses! An exciting partnership between LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) and The Sensory Trust will connect disengaged groups and individuals with nature and the countryside, through food and farming. The three and a half year project is funded by Access to Nature, an open grants programme run by Natural England with £25 million funding from Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces programme. For more information see www.letnaturefeedyoursenses.org

Jul 31, 2012

Photos: 1

Trampers trail blazing in Lancashire

Jul 19, 2012

Photos: 15

Let Nature Feed Your Senses Annual Get Together

Nature, food and farming goes to Coleshill 60 farmers, special school teachers, group leaders and care home managers gathered on 4th July 2012 for an inspiring Let Nature Feed Your Senses conference at Southfields Farm, Coleshill. The purpose of this, our third national conference, was to share the learnings and understand the impacts of the sensory farm visits for over 10,000 visitors over the last 3 years across our network of 75 farms.

Jul 3, 2012

Photos: 25

Loads of fun despite the heavy rain!

Millcroft Care Home's visit to College Farm on 27th April. The group felt wheat and rape in buckets and field vegetables such as onions, carrots and potatoes, milled wheat, made nature palettes, planted potatoes in buckets to take home and enjoyed listening to the roar of a 350 horse power tractor! Despire the monsoon like conditions Andrew and Liz set up the sensory experiences in a barn, and in the words of the group leader, "the visit exceeded all our expectations".

Apr 27, 2012

Photos: 4

Spring time at Larkrise

Delightful time to visit Larkrise Farm, so many new born animals to see! Lovely healthy new born lambs, more triplets this year than ever before skipped around as the visitors watched a ewe having her feet trimmed. Plenty of poultry to see and hold and young chicks were brought to the classroom whilst we had a cup of tea. The playful pigletts squealed as they chased each other whilst the young calves enjoyed chewing the cud as they relaxed on the straw. The group found Spring time at Larkrise very special, one visitor said when asked "What have you enjoyed most about today"? "The open space, feeling free, not feeling crowded, I have enjoyed that very much thankyou"

Apr 25, 2012

Photos: 10

Perfect Poultry

The chickens are the gentlest we've ever met, giving LNFYS visitors a wonderful opportunity to hold them, a first for many! Warm eggs are collected and passed around to hold. Tea and conversations are usually enjoyed out in the farmyard at Larkrise, with a table and chairs especially set up, we are surrounded by the noises of the farm...the working tractor and volunteers busy tending to the animals, cattle, goats, poultry, pigs and sheep all adding to the enjoyment of the visit. "What did the group most enjoy today" "Being out in the fresh air and sunshine surrounded by so many animals, its been great to have a rare group outing, its so accessible here but still a working farm, we would love to come back"

Mar 19, 2012

Photos: 5

"Fresh air with flavours"

One resident quoted the LNFYS visit as "fresh air with flavours" which described the event at Rylands farm beautifully, Julie hosted gentlemen from a local care home concentrating on " taste" by providing festive cheese and wine tasting. On arrival they met and bottle fed a 4 month old donkey, and fed chickens, before returning to a warm workshop to enjoy the cheese, wine and reminiscence conversations stimulated by old farming artefacts, photographs, and countryside quotes. What new things did the group learn today? " That there are opportunites for us to come together and enjoy this environment, regardless of our age and physical condition, its been wonderful". What did you most enjoy? "Getting away from the care home setting, having like minded people to chat to, the stimulating displays to look at and the conversations it provided". Julie is encouraging a group of ex farmers to form a "Gentleman farmers club" and visit Rylands on a more regular basis

Dec 20, 2011

Photos: 16

Festive Fernhill Farm

A cold but beautiful bright blue sky day on the Mendips was enjoyed by a group visiting Fernhill Farm in December. So close to Christmas, the sensory rich activities included making festive natural garlands, bird feeders and harvesting willow from the wet system to make wreaths. The sensory rich camping barn was a warm base to feel close to nature with its wonderful internal wooden structure and floors, furnished with soft fleece from the Fernhill sheep. Home made pork sausages and baked potatoes were shared by the group and everyone left feeling inspired and refreshed from their experiences. The organiser said " This group tend an allotment and enjoy growing their own food but to be able to spend time on a real working farm and understand how farming and nature work together has been a wonderful experience for them, many thanks to LNFYS & Fernhill Farm

Dec 12, 2011

Photos: 22

Christmas celebrations in the South West

1st day of Advent brought Christmas celebrations to residents of a care home in Wiltshire who were too frail to travel to the farm and endure the cold weather so LNFYS visited them. Conversations developed of preparing for a Christmas feast years ago, fattening the goose, crispy roast potatoes and brussel sprouts! They enjoyed tastes and smells of orange, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, minced pies, homemade chutneys cheese and biscuits, mulled wine & sloe gin. Christmas carols played in the background whilst busy hands made pine and dried orange Christmas wreaths and decorated ginger hearts which were hung on a branch for all to enjoy. Pictures of winter produce, colouful gourds and walnuts decorated the table. The home was filled with a wonderful warm spicy aroma of the forth coming season, residents enjoyed the sensory experience, staff and host were uplifted too!

Dec 1, 2011

Photos: 10

"This trailer ride is the pinacle."

A group from Myerscough College enjoying a visit to New Laud Farm, near Clitheroe, on 21st November 2011. The group watched a cow being milked and felt their fingers being sucked in a cluster, before having a go ear tagging lambs. They then enjoyed a trailer ride around the farm, stopping to admire some stunning hill top views. They then watched a new born calf take its first steps before sharing lunch in the farmhouse. In the afternoon a walk across a river's 'stepping stones' rounded off the visit. "There is a great buzz today. They'll remember the tractor and trailer ride for years. They've been out in the countryside before but this trailer ride is the pinacle. Their faces were a picture. The whole thing is a great experience. Normally one in particular would be a real handfull but they've all engaged today." (Peter Trice, Myerscough College’s Learning Manager for Access)

Nov 21, 2011

Photos: 6

Exploring Chalkhouse Green Farm

Oct 30, 2011

Photos: 42

Feathers and fleece at Cronkshaw Fold

Oct 24, 2011

Photos: 17

Brownies earn wildlife badge whilst at Quarry Bank Cornwall

Brownies enjoy a LNFYS visit and the activities achieved also qualified them to complete their wildlife badge. The day began with meeting the chickens and ducks before a nature walk on a small holding in Cornwall, they walked through the veggie patch on a pumpkin hunt, fed Euans sheep, walked through the orchard and learnt how to make compost and bug hotels. Pond dipping was a big favourite, like wise visiting the beautiful quarry to use the sound boards. All were keen to return so it was suggested they came back for Open Farm Sunday 2012 and brought their families. They left with ambitions to built a bug hotel back at brownie base.

Oct 22, 2011

Photos: 19

Ducks, sheep, turkeys, hens and chicks!

Oct 10, 2011

Photos: 24

Farming Memorabilia

Fourteen residents enjoy stimulating conversations during a LNFYS visit as a keen collector of of old farming tools volunteers to give the group a wonderful demonstration. Backed up with conversations on todays farming practise from the resident farmer the group departed with these comments "Its been great to hear and remember again all the hard work that goes into producing our food" "Its also great to hear how Jeremy is being sensitive to nature around him whilst farming the LEAF way" The manager added "its been so enjoyable, its a pleasure to see everyone smiling"

Oct 4, 2011

Photos: 5

Harvest Festival at Fosse Farm

Autumn brought a wide variety of colour and an abundance of fruit, vegetables, harvested grains and hedgerow berries to share with our visitors. Colourful displays were set up inside the workshop; bread making, tasting, smelling, and reminiscence activities were organised for the ten care homes that visited over two weeks. Bottle feeding two pet lambs was an enjoyable part of the activities offered, however due to the lack of mobility our visitors had, we found plenty of colourful and sensory activities could take place in the workshop area, bread making being the absolute favourite and memorable.

Oct 3, 2011

Photos: 13

Have you ever climbed a grain mountain? A group of young people got to do just that!

We held our first LNFYS at Lees Court Estate in Kent today, 13 blind or partially sighted young people aged from 8 to 22 along with numerous helpers plus our wonderful team of staff who went out of their way to become involved, from bread making to touching and identifying items from nature... great day had by all.

Sep 21, 2011

Photos: 14

Bug Hotels

Bugs love untidy, cosy spots to nestle into on farms safely away from the tractors and wellies! Piles of dead wood and leaves lying around the place are a source of food to some bugs and provide shelter for others. For many bugs a heap of sticks, leaves and hollows are an ideal place to hibernate through the winter. Around the countryside we've been spotting bug chalets, bug apartments and bug huts! Bugs galore! Keep your eye out for a bug hotel near you and send us your photo and we'll post up your pic too. Don't forget to tell us where you saw it. Email it to letnaturefeedyoursenses@gmail.com

Sep 17, 2011

Photos: 22

Bug Hotel Ingredients

Sep 17, 2011

Photos: 10

Community Care

Residential home get close contact to farm animals, plently of sensory rich smells and sounds from the animals and farm machinery, even a smoldering bonfire brings a welcome memory. " Today we have learnt so much more about residents past lives and experiences with farm life, they have really responded to being up close to the animals" another gentleman added "Today my wife seems ten years younger thankyou"

Sep 17, 2011

Photos: 9

Summer planting, picking and feasting!

"It's the best I have ever seen the group concentrate and work. They've loved every moment of it. I wish we could get out onto farms more often. They concentrated and listened to everything Ron and Annie have said. You can tell how happy they were planting parsley, picking tomatoes and beans, eating homemade soup and planting strawberry runners".

Aug 18, 2011

Photos: 15

Summer flowers, bottle feeding lambs, bread making on Fosse Farm

Aug 17, 2011

Photos: 15

Woolly Jumper!

Two pet Shetland sheep bring a lot of joy to residents of a care home visiting Fosse Farm. The sheep are really far too old to still be enjoying a bottle of warm milk, but the greedy pair guzzle down a bottle within minutes tails wagging furiously! The fleece is so soft its irresistable to touch.

Aug 15, 2011

Photos: 10

New Laund Tramper day

New Laund Farm is part of the Duchy of Lancaster estate in the stunning Hodder Valley. It has a recently opened tramper trail and over August 2011 several open farm accessibility days were held as part of Let nature feed your senses. The landscape is beautiful and the trampers meant that the hill tops could be reached. Some of the feedback from visitors included: "I felt the wind on my face on top of a hill - magical!" "I heard the wind rustle the hill tops and smelt he fresh air and outdoors!" "We enjoyed the freedome the trampers provided."

Aug 8, 2011

Photos: 8

Despite the rain everyone had the best day out at Pepperpot Farm

Aug 4, 2011

Photos: 15

Framing Fosse Farm

Aug 2, 2011

Photos: 13

"Magdalen Magic" Open day for care home residents at Magdalen Farm Chard Somerset

On Tuesday August 2nd, The Magdalen Project, www.themagdalenproject.org.uk hosted a series of Let nature feed your senses visits as part of their open day for residential care homes in their area. It was warm and sunny and there was lots to do and a great cup of tea and cake to be had as well. It was a great event and everyone is looking forward to coming back!

Aug 2, 2011

Photos: 31

Bread & Butter

Supporting NAPA Food Glorious Food competition, LNFYS visit was made to a care home for those residents too frail to travel to the farm. Dough was prepared and everyone encouraged to knead and mould into rolls, during the baking the warm smell filled the care home. Butter making was a joint effort, lots of shaking and laughter as the cream turned into butter and spread onto the freshly cooked bread

Jun 30, 2011

Photos: 6

The sun shone on Rookery Farm

Jun 20, 2011

Photos: 6

A good day was had by one and all at Great Wollaston!

Jun 4, 2011

Photos: 6

Smells, sights and sounds at Tees Valley Wildflife trust

Jun 2, 2011

Photos: 9

Hands on at Fernhill Farm, Mendips

May 23, 2011

Photos: 11

Bread and butter making at Molescroft Farm, Beverley

A sensational visit to Molescroft Farm to grind grain, make bread, delicious butter, sow seeds and see the huge piles of wheat grain. Everybody had a brilliant time! Molescroft Grange farm grows wheat (for bread, biscuit making and animal feed), barley (for animal feed), oilseed rape (for biodiesel and vegetable oil), beans (exported to Egypt) and of course, peas for Birds Eye.

May 12, 2011

Photos: 25

Pigs and poultry star at Heathfield House nursing home's visit to FAI farms in Oxfordshire

The visit from Heathfield House Nursing Home was a truly special one. Though the weather started out a bit cold and rainy, this was soon forgotten once the residents began their tour and met our two very friendly horses, Millie and Dareesh. After stroking and feeding the horses, we had a leisurely tour around the farmyard to meet our pigs, poultry, bulls and lambs, including the chance to hold newly hatched chicks. Having contact with the animals and the sights and smells of the farm brought up a lot of feelings and memories. The woman with the baby chick had actually been to the farm many times is her working career, and recalled the time she spent here. She was so pleased to be back on the farm! Some of the residents came along with their family members and it was a lovely experience for them to share together. We ended the day with a cup of tea and cake. As the visit was such a success, we are looking forward to them coming again in the future.

May 11, 2011

Photos: 26

A special moment on Billow Farm

Apr 26, 2011

Photos: 2

Feeding and stroking the animals at Cronkshaw Fold

Apr 15, 2011

Photos: 12

Feeding lambs and squelching in muddy puddles at Park Hill

“On the children’s arrival a child exclaimed look at the horses. I did a double take as the horses shouldn't have been out. This child was actually seeing cows for the very first time. The children’s excitement was infectious as they had never seen a field, a cow or stroked a pig. Much enjoyment was also gained from jumping freely in muddy puddles, another new experience.” Pat Pimlott, Park Hill farm, West Midlands,

Apr 7, 2011

Photos: 19

Cattle, corn and rock cakes at Fosse Farm

Apr 5, 2011

Photos: 18

'Bringing back rural memories' - our regional workshops

These are some photos from our regional workshop series "Bringing back rural memories - hosting sensory-rich visits for people with dementia". Participants were invited to bring along an object that stimulated happy childhood memories of being outdoors on a farm or in the countryside.

Mar 11, 2011

Photos: 22

Touching, textures, searching and collecting

Children from Doubletrees School in Cornwall explored their senses making nature palettes recently in class. The following week on a gorgeous Spring day they took to the woods and went on a texture hunt.

Mar 8, 2011

Photos: 17

Nature, food and farming colour palettes

What colour is the countryside? Greens and browns. Taking a closer look, there are so many beautiful subtle shades of colour. Come back soon as we post more palettes.

Feb 23, 2011

Photos: 9

Fort Royal School Lower Smite farm looking for signs of nature in Winter

Fort Royal primary school, for 150 children with a range of special educational needs took a visit to Lower Smite farm to look for signs of nature!

Jan 25, 2011

Photos: 6

Draw, Play and Story Workshops - Visual Minutes

Let nature feed your senses Conference, London, 29th November, 2010 Food, farming and nature in The City Despite the tube strike and arctic conditions around 80 people made it to London for the Let nature feed your senses conference. We had fantastic speakers, including Dr William Bird, who emphasised the importance of access to outdoor environments for everyone's health and well being, and three of our very own host farmers who told us all about the amazing experiences that the project is creating. It wasn’t all talk however, with workshops exploring how play, drawing and stories can be used to connect people to their environment, nature, food and farming. Conference delegates played with their food and made edible pictures, went on adventures and shared stories and memories. For those of you who were planning to come but couldn’t make it because of the weather, you were missed!

Dec 8, 2010

Photos: 43

Conference speakers: Dr Bird, Sue Padfield, Jo North and John Alpe - Visual Minutes

Food, farming and nature in The City Despite the tube strike and arctic conditions around 80 people made it to London for the Let nature feed your senses conference. We had fantastic speakers, including Dr William Bird, who emphasised the importance of access to outdoor environments for everyone's health and well being, and three of our very own host farmers who told us all about the amazing experiences that the project is creating. It wasn’t all talk however, with workshops exploring how play, drawing and stories can be used to connect people to their environment, nature, food and farming. Conference delegates played with their food and made edible pictures, went on adventures and shared stories and memories. For those of you who were planning to come but couldn’t make it because of the weather, you were missed!

Dec 8, 2010

Photos: 46

Making Autumn cocktails at Potteric Carr

A group from Thorne Social Education Centre went to Potteric Carr for a sensory walk around the site, to learn more about the connections between the food we eat and our natural environment. Although the group visit the site most weeks of the year the funding enabled the group of 11 from the centre the opportunity to have a guided visit and carry out a range of activities. This enabled them to look at the reserve from a new perspective, and certainly saw things with new eyes, as well as discovering sounds, textures and smells that they had perhaps overlooked on previous visits.

Nov 22, 2010

Photos: 5

Sound maps and nature palettes - listening, observing, collecting, recording and sharing

Oct 22, 2010

Photos: 8

'Soup seeds and sarnies' visit Quarry Bank to harvest their produce

"The visit really fulfilled the name of the organisation, (Seeds, Soup & Sarnies) as the group were able to harvest several pumpkins which they had sown the seeds of, helped to turn some of the pumpkin into soup which we all enjoyed for lunch to go with their sandwiches, and saved some of the pumpkin seeds to take away to try growing themselves next year! We also spent time with the sheep and cows, and did an apple count to see which of the old west country apple varieties I’d planted 12 years ago were doing the best on our rather exposed location. All good fun and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves." Euan, Host farmer, Quarry Bank

Aug 26, 2010

Photos: 9

Egg collecting, hen holding, slippery grains and a breath of fresh air!

Green Pastures nursing home visit Broughton Grounds Farm

Aug 9, 2010

Photos: 5

Muddy feet and den building at Stanstead Bury Farm

Stanstead Bury Farm is a small farm of 250 acres with an ancient woodland at the eastern end full of bluebells in the spring and wood anemones. There are tracks around the farm, with several small fields of grassland and hedges. The young carers on this visit had such a great time on their visit.

Aug 6, 2010

Photos: 4

Curnow school visit Boscawen Farm

Jul 14, 2010

Photos: 3

...ate fresh peas from the pods and those who couldn't, enjoyed just the smell...

A farm visit by residents of a care home in Somerset.

Jul 6, 2010

Photos: 8

Girl Guides visit 'The Grange' in Chester

Jul 3, 2010

Photos: 6

Discovering nature, food and farming at Church Farm

Jun 22, 2010

Photos: 12

Family Day Out at Quarry Bank, Cornwall

Jun 22, 2010

Photos: 14

Southfields Farm in June

Nine children from a special needs school attended Southfields farm, outside Birmingham for some pond dipping, exploring wildflower meadows, wildlife walk and a trailer ride to see the cows and crops.

Jun 21, 2010

Photos: 21

"Your farm rocks"

Our growing collection of letters and drawings from Let nature feed your senses visits...these are from a group of children who visited Helen and John Renner's farm at Belford in Northumberland.

Jun 18, 2010

Photos: 6

Fern Hill Farm, The Mendips

Jun 14, 2010

Photos: 5

Broughton Grounds Farm!

Photos credit to Charles Abel, Farmers Club Journal

Jun 14, 2010

Photos: 11

Children's Countryside Day - Glendale Agricultural Society

The sixth Children’s Countryside Day was held at The Glendale Showfield, Wooler on Thursday 10th June 2010, by kind permission of the Lilburn Estate Farming Partnership. The day is free of charge to schools and is aimed mainly at Year 3 and Year 4 pupils from Northumberland and North Tyneside. The event is specifically planned by the Glendale Agricultural Society to give children of all abilities aged between 5 and 9 years, first hand experience of rural life. It is run entirely by volunteers with the majority of them being farmers (including a LEAF demonstration and Let nature feed your senses farmer).

Jun 10, 2010

Photos: 59

St Peters Darwen visit New Laund Farm, Lancashire

Jun 9, 2010

Photos: 5

A visit to the farm in Lancashire

May 17, 2010

Photos: 11

Taking the farm to the people!

Roly Puzey has been taking his sheep dog, Meg and Henry the lamb to visit some residential care homes in Oxfordshire. It has been great that the residents heard about Roly and his life as a sheep farmer, witnessed a 'lamb' round up by Meg and generally got a chance to experience first hand a vibrant piece of nature, food and farming. For more information see www.letnaturefeedyoursenses.org

Apr 27, 2010

Photos: 17

Our first visit - Students from New College Worcester visit Lower Smite Farm

Students from New College Worcester (a school for vision impaired students) visited Lower Smite Farm. They had a great time pond dipping and hunting for toads and bugs in the small woods. Debs Bull led the visit. She made clay models of the creatures some of the students could see for those that couldn’t. It was a great way of making the pond life accessible. From their teacher, “Many thanks again for a wonderful afternoon. The students really enjoyed it and got a lot out of it, and we were very grateful for the funding from Let nature feed your senses.” For more information see www.letnaturefeedyoursenses.org

Mar 17, 2010

Photos: 72

Meet our Regional Coordinators

“I am inspired by this project and the training days ... were a real eye opener. One of the activities involved putting together a 'sensory map'. Rather than walking around your farm and looking at the jobs that need doing, we walked, placing sticks with labels whenever one of the senses was triggered. This can then be transferred to a map of the farm.” “I was keen to go back home to Southend Farm to do the same thing, rather than just seeing the aphids or the unsold celery sitting there ready for harvesting. To hear the rustling of the leaves, to touch the smooth conkers, to taste the berries in the hedge and to smell the freshly cut lettuce. We farmers are very lucky to be living in this environment and if we can make some people’s lives a bit better, by giving them a love of nature through experiencing the environment where we produce the food we eat, that must be a good thing.” John Plumb, Regional Coordinator, West Midlands

Sep 17, 2009

Photos: 27

Designing sensory-rich visits - coming together round the regions.

Through-out the project, in each of the eight regions, farmers, nature reserve managers, community connectors and environmental enthusiasts came together to get into the 'nuts and bolts' of the project and share their ideas for hosting sensory-rich visits. We have mapped our sites and planned out sensory trails that would be suitable for older people, people with disabilities and those from disadvantaged areas of England who may have never had the chance before to get out onto a farm. We have also been sharing our activities and ideas for making nature, food and farming come alive for head, hearts and hands! For more information see www.letnaturefeedyoursenses.org

Sep 17, 2009

Photos: 59

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