Folly Farm Diary
RSSCanterbury School Visit From Gran Canaria
Folly Farm Centre was once again host to a residential group from Canterbury School, Gran Canaria. They stayed for 3 days on the 20th June. The visit coincided nicely with a Spanish victory over Honduras during the FIFA Football World Cup, so Folly Farm was alive with the cheering and laughter of 20 delighted students. As the Centre has a fully equipped kitchen and restaurant, students relished the opportunity to cater for both themselves and their teachers. This proved to be a great team building experience.
‘We had an absolutely BRILLIANT time! The whole stay was, as it always is, a complete adventure. The kids were fantastic and did us proud wherever we went. Everyone absolutely loved Folly Farm, especially the pigs and the open countryside.’ James Slocombe
ROYAL VISIT FOR FOLLY FARM
HRH The Duke of Kent visited the Folly Farm Centre on Tuesday 25 May 2010, where he was greeted by Philippa Forrester, Vice-President of Avon Wildlife Trust (whose TV series Halcyon Diaries is currently enjoying great success). The Duke of Kent toured the Folly Farm Centre and observed the schools programme with children from Winford Primary School, before planting an oak tree to commemorate the Trust’s 30th anniversary.
Alastair Sawday staff enjoy the natural beauty of Folly Farm
About 30 of us turned up in wellies and anoraks for a wet afternoon of foraging and fire-lighting in the woods, to be followed by a session on shelter-building. I remember trying to get this sort of thing past my children years ago – to little avail. So I was astonished how eager we all were and how much damp and cold we were prepared to put up with. Not a whinge to be heard, and the energy behind shelter-building had to be seen to be believed. All this was followed by a delicious tea and then dinner. We used their own caterers and had a delicious meal, all from local producers, at two long tables in the dining room. The mood of the building is perfect: easy-going, unpretentious, simple but attractive, and professional. We had a great time and will return.
Written by Alastair Sawday.
Sustainable Futures Foundation conference
More and more local (and not-so-local) businesses are using the purpose-built conference suites at Folly Farm for day and residential meeting and training. Surrounded by the tranquility of the Folly Farm nature reserve, it’s a perfect place to focus and rediscover energy and inspiration.
The purpose-built conference suites offer state-of-the-art audio-visual and IT equipment, and the period farmhouse offers comfortable bedrooms and 10 self-catering studios are also available.
“We chose Folly Farm as the venue for our annual meeting to reflect on our future role as an organisation.. The location, the atmosphere and natural surroundings all contributed to a highly successful evening and day. The flexibility and positive, supportive nature of all the staff involved at Folly Farm were also huge contributing factors and the variety of “spaces” available, the environmentally-sound management practices and the quality of the accommodation are first rate. We had a lot of fun and relaxation around the hard work. I cannot imagine achieving what we did at any other venue. We’ll be back!”
Gwyn Jones, Sustainable Futures Foundation
Envolwe Conference at Folly Farm
Folly Farm was proud to host the recent Envolwe conference on 22 March 2010. The Envolwe initiative has been developed to strengthen co-operation between small nature based enterprises and vocational education and training providers.
*‘I just wanted to thank you and your staff for your warm welcome and excellent facilities at Folly Farm. We had an excellent meeting in a very inspirational setting.’ *
Easter Bushcraft for 7-12 year olds
Following our success of previous bushcraft courses for children in the school holidays we are delighted to be offering the course once again.
Friday 9th April 10am – 3pm
A fun and adventurous day learning bushcraft techniques and testing your survival skills whilst enjoying the delights of the natural world at Folly Farm. Bushcraft tutors will lead you on a journey of exploration; starting from the basics of making fire and setting up camp to adventurous survival games. End the day by relaxing in your shelter whilst being warmed by the fire you have made and enjoying a tasty snack.
Cost: £15
Please contact Avon Wildlife Trust on 0117 9177270 or mail@avonwildlifetrust.org.uk for more information or to book.
2010 Wildlife Film Making - dates announced
Following the success of Wildlife Film Making courses at Folly Farm last year, we are delighted to announce our dates for 2010 with a range of spectacular courses designed to capture the highlights of the different seasons.
Enjoy learning all aspects of wildlife film making with the experts including learning or improving your producing, camera and editing skills.
Places do go quickly and we have a reserve list so please do book quickly to avoid disappointment.
To find out more: http://www.follyfarm.org/adult-courses/category/film%20_photography_and_media#available-courses
or visit http://www.youtube.com/bristolwildlifefilm to see footage from the last course.
