Little hands on the land

The environment

Attendees learnt about nature-friendly farming including where food actually comes from, how to grow it and harvest it and how to encourage biodiversity (e.g. not using chemicals, diversifying plants and flowers). 100% of attendees (who completed an evaluation form) said that they, or their child, learnt something new about local food growing at the sessions and they feel more connected to the site. Connection to local natural sites is likely to inspire care for them in future. "You could see how excited my son was to pull up a carrot from the soil and realise that is how they grow." "It's been so helpful being given information that might be beyond the toddler's understanding but which as the adults we can absorb and then teach them later."

Volunteering, jobs & education

The adults also loved getting involved at the community farms with their children and while the children were entertained. "The most wonderful way to spend time with my little ones. We want to get more involved in farming and this is the perfect start." 100% of parent (who completed evaluation forms) feel interested to attend sessions or get involved at Common Soil or Oakbrook in the future.

Activity, health and leisure

Our sessions helped to get young children and their carers out in nature together - with plenty of fresh air and exercise. Many people commented on how much they’d enjoyed getting outside for a purposeful task with their children, and others, for example: "I think the sessions are particularly beneficial as toddler groups rarely include the opportunity to be outdoors." "I loved being outdoors in a beautiful setting with like-minded people and being offered an accessible task for the children to take part in." And one parent reflected on what they'd noticed about toddlers during the sessions: "Another benefit I've had from the sessions is that it's helped me see just how kind and trusting and patient with toddlers it's possible to be. I remember the facilitator passing a delicate seedling to a tiny toddler and thinking "Oh no" and the toddler just took it with exactly the care it needed. And if they hadn't that would've been ok too and a gentle lesson would probably have been given, but it was really inspiring to see these moments happen."