Care Farm Project
Care farming is a brilliant way for people to connect with nature and other people, especially those that might be isolated.
The Surrey Hills Society, in partnership with the Surrey Hills National Landscape and Growing Health Together have been awarded a grant to initiate a pilot of nature-based health interventions on farms in East Surrey. These can support the mental health of people from all ages and backgrounds with Surrey Heartlands’ priority communities as the focus. The priority area is focused on prevention, removing barriers, and supporting people to become proactive in improving their emotional health and wellbeing.
Care farms use farming and nature to benefit people, including improving mental health and wellbeing. A care farm is a calming environment, away from the pressures of everyday life. Care farming can help to release anxiety or stress and give people space to be themselves.
Through farming-related activity, such as animal care, mechanics or horticulture, people have the opportunity to participate in a meaningful way.
Get in touch at Katie4SurreyHills@gmail.com
Care farming is the use of farming practices for the stated purpose of providing or promoting healing, mental health, social, or educational care services.
EARLY INTERVENTION: Young people and adults with mental illness of mild to medium severity in the key neighbourhoods of:
Merstham
Redhill
Hurst Green
Horley
PREVENTION: Young people and adults with, or at risk of, mental health issues in the following priority populations, wherever they live in East Surrey:
( Age 10 – 25 )
Carers and young carers
Children / young people with additional needs and disabilities
Adults with learning disabilities and/or autism
Black and Minority Ethnic groups
Refugees
- Bespoke farm visits created to offer personalised support.
- A block of 3 visits for around 3 hours long.
- Children and young adults.
- Supported environment to interact with a working farm environment.
- Project is based in the East of surrey.
To find out more about the project and to apply to take part, please email:
Growing Health Together invites people living and working in communities across East Surrey to collaborate, in order to co-create conditions in which everyone’s health and wellbeing can flourish.
Visit the Growing Health Together website.
This project was funded with thanks to the Surrey County Council Mental Health Investment Fund ((MHIF). This is a Surrey wide, all age, resource to enable the delivery of the outcomes in Priority Two of the Health and Wellbeing Strategy. This priority area is focused on prevention, removing barriers, and supporting people to become proactive in improving their emotional health and wellbeing.
Find out more about the Surrey Mental Health Investment Fund.
Additional funding was also provided by the Surrey Hills Access for All fund to enable people with access needs to take part in the programme.
| Total grant awarded | £10,289.70 |
| Project financial year | 24/25 |
Project Impact
Caring for the animals may have provided novel and fun experiences they wouldn’t be able access outside of the care farms.
- ‘The horses were pretty cool; we led them to the stable and cleaned their hooves.’
- ‘Sorting the cows’ pens. Riding and grooming horses. Sorting ducks, changing water.’
Additionally, contact with animals was noted as being a favourite experience. Although this would have likely happened while providing care to animals, this seems to have provided the opportunity for the real favourite experience for some participants; being around animals and having positive interactions with them.
- ‘Cow licks’
- ‘Chickens picking them up and holding them’
- ‘Forest the horse’ – this respondent seems to have developed a bond with one of the animals, naming them specifically as their favourite experience.
Interacting with nature
- ‘You’re doing well to the nature and for your mental state.’
- ‘Being out in the fresh air and in the countryside.’
Physical Activity
- ‘Hedge planting was fulfilling because it got me out working physically.’
Contact with and Caring for Animals
- ‘Being interactive with the animals.’
- ‘Interacting with the cows and all the other animals, very friendly animals, seeing the bats, feeding horses and petting the dogs.’
- ‘Helping feed the cows is rewarding and fun.’
- ‘What’s going on in my head and the worries I encounter’
- ‘…being in that environment just made me forget my problems.’ – Providing a different environment with novel experiences may provide distractions and respite from outside life.
- ‘New environment where you’re learning new thing, helpful things and in a way you escape reality.’ – Being able to contribute to activities that are helpful supported this participant in forgetting about life away from the farm.
Attending the care farm has changed how participants act and behave in various ways:
- ‘(name redacted) has improved at school since coming here.’ – Being at the care farm is supporting them to do better at school.
- ‘Improved sleeping’
- ‘Woken up more being in fresh air’
- ‘more motivated when at the farm’, ‘checking (their) phone and time less’
