We explore Meanwood Valley Urban Farm, a true gem of Leeds which supports inner city communities and is home to an array of animals.
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00:00A lot of people do say it's still a bit of a hidden gem.
00:07You wouldn't believe that we're just a mile and a half from Leeds city centre.
00:12If you've never visited Meanwood Valley Urban Farm, you may well be taken aback by the sheer
00:16size of it and its secluded feel, despite its proximity to Leeds city centre.
00:22CEO Adam Ogilvie has been at the farm since 2019.
00:26It's like the country, just off Meanwood Road, so very close to Meanwood, but also close
00:31to neighbourhoods like Little London, Hare Hills, Chapel Town, Headingley.
00:36We were set up in 1980 by some local people who wanted to protect the land to make sure
00:42it didn't get developed on, and it's grown to be a 26 acre site.
00:47We're a visitor attraction, but we're also an education and learning facility, doing
00:53lots of work with about 10,000 school children each year.
00:57We have a group of 30 adults with learning disabilities who come up to five days a week.
01:02As well as Bertie and Eric, the alpacas, there are around 40 sheep on site, with numbers
01:07increasing during lambing season.
01:08Cows, goats, hens, guinea pigs and rabbits all call the farm home, and for some the farm
01:14is more of a holiday home.
01:15At the moment we've got some donkeys who are here for their winter holiday, their summer
01:21residence is at Blackpool Beach, but they come here every year for a rest and recuperation,
01:27which is lovely, and they're actually looked after by our adults with learning disabilities,
01:32which is really nice.
01:33We're very much about connecting people to nature who wouldn't normally get the chance
01:37to experience nature, conservation, food growing, farm animals.
01:41So the groups we work with, the adults with learning disabilities in particular, many
01:46of whom have been coming for over 20 years, but wouldn't get the chance normally to experience
01:52this kind of thing.
01:53So for many of them, if you ask them, it's like their second home, and they're just a
01:58joy to be with.
02:01There are many surprises and activities to be discovered here, including willow weaving
02:05workshops by Out of the Woods, a veg box scheme as part of the market garden, and a foot and
02:10cycle path running right the way through the site, to name just three.
02:14The challenge for us as a charity is how we keep funding this, particularly against
02:18the backdrop of reduced public sector funding, and I have to say I'm very grateful to Leed
02:24City Council for all the support they've given over the years.
02:28So we're on a fundraising challenge, particularly as it's our 45th year this year, our 45th
02:35birthday.
02:36We also do a couple of forest schools that are based at the farm, so that's working with
02:41lots of parents and toddlers, and I've spoken to a number of the parents, and it's just
02:47as much therapy for the parents as it is for the toddlers, really.
02:52The power of nature to help all of our health and wellbeing is really important.