Care Farming Scotland is go!
Care Farming Scotland is go!
20 May 2009
CARE FARMING SCOTLAND IS GO!
The launch of Care Farming Scotland at Ingliston on 19 May has been hailed as a great success by Steering Group Chair Martin Robb (pictured), who said that it had met and even exceeded the group's expectations. More than 90 people attended the event, and heard speakers including Sir Donald Curry, whose knowledgable and enthusiastic promotion of the concept of care farming led directly to the setting up of Care Farming Scotland. He spoke powerfully of the changes that had occurred in agriculture and the fundamental links between mankind and the land, which lead to the therapeutic effects time spent working on it.
Other speakers included Richard Lochhead, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Debbie Wilcox from the National Care Farming Initiative and Bill McKelvey of the SAC who gave an update on the SAC's offer to resource the setting up of Care Farming Scotland and provide a secretariat for its first year of operation. Caroline Matheson of Ballicherry Farm and Jamie MacDonald from JobCentre Plus gave their perspectives on the successful Farm to Work project, and speakers from Cyrenians and Trellis told those attending about the work they have been doing in this area for many years.
The launch received favourable coverage in the Press & Journal, the Herald and the Courier, as well as BBC Good Morning Scotland and STV. It's also been covered on the Scotland National Rural Network website and the SCVO Rural Blog. The Scottish Government news release on Richard Lochhead's speech is here.
The following PowerPoint presentations were delivered at the launch event:
Care Farming Scotland: Progress and Next Steps download
Professor Bill McKelvey, Scottish Agricultural College
What is Care Farming? download
Debbie Wilcox, National Care Farming Initiative UK
Cyrenians Care Farm (photo gallery) download
Richard Frazer, Cyrenians
Farm to Work Project 1 download
Caroline Matheson, Ballicherry Farm
Farm to Work project 1 download
Jamie MacDonald, JobCentre Plus
The work of Trellis download
Mike Hamilton, Trellis