Farming & Environment

New Stour & Avon, July 30, 2021 Farming & Environment A Day at the Farm... with Tiffany Fleming

Our new columnist Tiffany Fleming is a volunteer at High Mead Farm in Longham, Ferndown High Mead Farm is a working farm run to promote the benefits of engaging with animals, soil, and nature. They ‘create purposeful roles for our co-farmers, young people and adults alike, to help bring about a sense of well-being and self-worth that many have never experienced before’.

June and July have been cracking months at High Mead. By mid-June the air was thick with giddy excitement, none of us could quite put our finger on why but there was a really happy vibe. To be fair the atmosphere is always positive, it is one of the qualities that gets a mention from first time visitors, but this was different. The proposed launch of a new community farm shop seemed to have piqued interest and we were feeling the love from many different sources. Within just few hours of asking we had been gifted a brand-new till from a generous local benefactor, identified a dozen brilliant volunteers, received a pledge of free materials from Travis Perkins and CCF, and secured enough funding from the Friends of Canford School committee to complete the shop ready for a July launch – happy days indeed. However, when the farm’s director Mark, and horticultural head Jo returned from a weekend away and announced their engagement, it became clear that it wasn’t just veg that had been flourishing. Love was in the air and it was just the news we need to lift us out of lockdown. Whilst high spirits remained, high winds and high volumes of rain, followed by sun, meant the team had little time for celebration. Harvest was well underway as were numerous additional duties such as waging war on an overwhelming number of weeds. Whilst a totally organic ethos is great for the planet it doesn’t half create a lot of extra work. The relaxation on social distancing saw the return of school visits to the farm, and the sound of children’s laughter became the new backdrop to the daily chores. As the heat increased, alpacas in paddling pools also became a thing… The shop continued to garner support, resulting in donations of bunting, begonias and hanging baskets.

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STAYING COOL: One of the alpacas in a paddling pool

High Mead Farm has achieved an extraordinary amount in the last few weeks, testament to the resilience of the staff and volunteers, and the goodwill and support of our wonderful friends and neighbours. Teamwork, it appears, really is dream work.

Thistle do very nicely!

These gorgeous pictures were taken by Kerrie Anne Hildebrandt, of, top, a burnet moth, above left, a small skipper butterfly and right, two marble white butterflies.

Volunteers take the plunge to keep River Allen tidy

A chair, an old drum and several pieces of cutlery were part of the haul from the fourth River Allen clean which took place in Wimborne. Despite a higher river level than usual, nearly 40 volunteers took to the water at the Rising Sun pub, wading and clearing their way up to Walford Mill. Along with the above items, volunteers also dredged up discarded bottles and cans, a traffic cone, old railings, scaffolding and fishing lines. The River Clean was started in 2017, when a group of neighbours from Poet’s Corner, including Robin Lithgow, Phil Main and David Emes, got together after becoming dismayed at seeing the river used as a dustbin. Mr Emes said: “We were fed up with all the debris thrown into what is a fantastically clean river with an abundance of wildlife. Our aim is to preserve this unique river for all to enjoy and we’d like to thank all the volunteers that took part.” The group now plans to try and clear a section of the River Stour. If you’d like to help, David can be contacted at demes@live.co.uk

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