Cory started volunteering at Bridge Community Farms after his Prince’s Trust programme came to an end. He completed a two week placement and enjoyed his time so much that he wanted to continue to contribute to the farm. We caught up with Cory to find out what volunteering at Bridge Community Farms means.

How long have you been volunteering at Bridge Community Farms?
I’ve been volunteering at Bridge Community Farms since the beginning of May. I know that might not seem very long, but I’ve been here nearly every day since!

What tasks do you do?
I work alongside the rest of the team on the jobs that need doing that day.. As the farm is new there have been lots of crops to plant so I’ve been planting potatoes, fruit trees, and onions – until now I didn’t realise there were so many different ways to plant things! I’ve also helped make some raised beds.

What is the best bit?
Being outside everyday is definitely the best thing. Whether it’s raining or the sun is shining I don’t care – as long as I’m not stuck inside. I like having a list of jobs to work through and being able to just get on with it. It’s such a good feeling at the end of the day when I can see the progress we’ve made, and I’m motivated for the next day.

What have you learnt so far?
I’ve learnt a lot of new skills, from working by myself but also as part of a team.  I’ve also learnt about the land, Latin names for plants and knowledge of different planting techniques but I feel I have so much more to learn!

How much do you have to commit?
At the moment there is so much to do to get the farm ready before summer we really need more volunteers. At the moment I’m volunteering every day but that’s my choice – most people come along for a few hours through the week.

What do you do outside of volunteering?
I am looking at what other jobs I might want to apply for. Before my placement at the farm I hadn’t thought that this type of work would appeal to me, but now I want to find a job like this. Volunteering at Bridge Community Farms is giving me the opportunity to learn so much and equipping me with all kinds of skills to help me find a job to move on to.

If someone was thinking about volunteering at Bridge Community Farms, what would you tell them?
Just come down and get involved! Everyone is really nice and will make you feel really involved. Come along to one of the farms induction days on Tuesday mornings (9:30-12:30pm) – I hope to see you there.

If you’d like to find out more about volunteering at Bridge Community Farms please email Collete at volunteers@bridgecommunityfarms.co.uk

We are so pleased to share a video made by one of our partners - yonda aerial systems. Not only do you get to see some great aerial shots of Mill Lane, but also a series of short interviews from some of our supporters telling us how and why they chose to get involved with Bridge Community Farms.

We want to thank you all our supporters who are working with us to make this happen - you can find out more about them here.

Come along and help us sow seeds, plant trees and be a part of the team helping to get Bridge Community Farms up and running.

Volunteers are welcome to come along on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9.30am-1pm at the community farm on Mill Lane, CH66 3TH.

You will need to wear suitable, waterproof outdoor clothes and footwear (e.g. steel toe cap boots). We will provide light refreshments but you will need to bring a packed lunch. All tools will be provided.

Come and get involved – everyone is welcome. For more details or to sign up to volunteer contact Collette on 07847 824 910 or e-mail us at volunteersbcf@gmail.com

Raised beds are commonly used for growing fruit and vegetables in as they are great for improving drainage and improving the soil conditions ready for growing. But our raised beds are extra special, because they were built by our friends over at Access 2 Training and Employment, a fellow not-for-profit community interest company based in Ellesmere Port.

Access 2 Training and Employment aims to make the community a better place for us all to live in. It does this by offering training opportunities to young people who are not yet ready or able to engage in an apprenticeship, further education or employment. This sort of work is right up our street, perfectly complementing our own aims to offer job opportunities to local residents who have been long-term unemployed. We are delighted that such an important programme is quite literally forming the basis of our work.

You can find out more about Access 2 Training and Employment here. 

Introducing Josh... 

Bridge Community Farms aims to grow better lives. Through growing produce and selling it to the local community, we will be able to offer employment opportunities to local residents who have for one reason or another struggled to find and keep work. Every person we support in this way will enable Bridge Community Farms to grow, and not just in the agricultural sense.

We will be offering temporary and permanent opportunities for people who are long-term unemployed and valuable work experience for those who need it. There can be a number of reasons why a person hasn’t accessed employment for a while including a lack of opportunities, ill-health or caring responsibilities. Everyone has strengths and something to offer but being out of work for a long time can knock a person’s confidence or create unhelpful gaps in a CV, which present barriers to finding a new job. We see our role as helping people overcome these barriers to gain permanent and sustainable employment (whether it’s related to farming or not).

Recently we ploughed our first furrow and we are now really pleased to welcome Josh to Bridge Community Farms. Josh is the first person to participate in our employment programme and we caught up with him to find out more about his experience and aspirations for his new role.

Tell us a bit about yourself... I'm 29 and have lived most of my life in Ellesmere Port. In addition to building computers and playing online games, I’m pretty outdoorsy and enjoy playing sports, photography and travelling.

How did you find out about Bridge Community Farms? My employment advisor told me that Bridge Community Farms was holding interviews for a new position at the Ellesmere Port Job Centre Plus. I was interested, so my advisor helped me to prepare for the interview. This preparation gave me the ability and confidence to deal with the questions in the interview, to the best of my ability. The interview went well and was also very informative – I was told a lot about Bridge Community Farms and the work that I would be doing.

Had you been out of work for a long time? I became unemployed in February 2014, so I was out of work for almost a year, despite support from my personal advisor at the Job Centre Plus and courses designed to improve my CV.

Do you have to be a farmer to work at BCF? No! Most of my working life has been spent either working in warehouses, production and retail. I’m not a farmer – though I have grown a bit of rhubarb with my dad! I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty and I’m committed to learning everything I need to know for my role.

Is it all digging and raking soil? My first few weeks at the farm have been really varied. My work has involved some admin tasks and a lot of planning and research and practical jobs like helping to put up the polytunnels. There’s a lot to do and learn before harvest - including learning propagation techniques and the Latin and scientific names for plants, trees and shrubs. I’m also really enjoying seeing all the plans and work come together for when we enter the growing season.

Will you stay? Its early days, but I hope to gain full time employment after my 3 months probation period. My plan is to become a capable grower, and then a teacher and supervisor in the future.

Would you recommend working at Bridge Community Farms? Definitely. It’s an exciting project and I feel part of a close-knit team, who are all passionate about making it work. I have already begun to spread the word about the farm, telling family and friends about it and hopefully they will want to get involved at some point!

To find out more about our employment programme please email info@bridgecommunityfarms.co.uk