YMCA team-building day

On Thursday 29th October the community farm played host to 25 members of the local YMCA staff and volunteers, and facilitated a day of team-building activities for them (having done the same for them last year too). We split the group into four teams, and led them on four different farming tasks -
1) Harvesting potatoes with Pete and the tractor,
2) Weeding the carrot patch with Ian,
3) Converting a polytunnel from summer tomatoes to winter salads with Jenny, and
4) Spreading and turning compost with Hugh.

One team wheelbarrowing compost to the broad bean patch.

Another team weeding carrots.

Each team spent one hour on each task, rewarded not just with the enjoyment of hard work, and the positives of team building, but with a superb lunch made mostly from farm produce, and a cream tea with a fun quiz to end the day. We harvested over 200kg of potatoes, weeded half the carrot patch, harvested all the remaining tomatoes (both ripe and green) and got the plants onto the compost, spread all the ready compost on the market garden, and turned most of the rest.

Thank you to all the YMCA people who came on the day and made it such a success - we hope to see you again next year!

Also big thanks to everyone who helped the farm hold the event - Nikki, Alice, Jenny, Sonia, Willow, Ian, Mark and Yvonne - and to our four wwoofers for picking lots of veg and eggs whilst we were otherwise occupied - Stuart, Paul, Charlotte and Daniel.