It was volunteer week in the South West in mid-June, and BBC did a feature on it, which included an interview with one of our own, Anita Dowman, a trustee of the Shallowford Trust.
Anita, who volunteers at East Shallowford Farm, said that Shallowford gives some of the ‘most disadvantaged’ young people from inner cities a flavour of life on a working farm.
‘It can be quite daunting,’ she said, ‘and the first thing they notice is the smell.’
‘Days start early, feeding and mucking out pigs before breakfast, ahead of a day packed with activities such as hiking, climbing trees, and joining in with farm activities, such as lambing – depending on the time of year.’
Once the youngsters get over the initial ‘shock’ of smells, spiders and seeing animals, ‘you start seeing the amazement in them’, said Anita.
Anita, herself, grew up in London and first visited East Shallowford in 1992 as a child on a camping trip, staying in ‘old army tents’.
Her mother was on one of the farm’s first school trips in 1977, and her son and grandmother and grandfather had also been to the farm – making four generations of visitors.
‘Dartmoor is one of my favourite places in the world and I love sharing this experience with the children,’ she said.
Volunteering has always been important at East Shallowford and remains so to this day. With the help of Heritage Lottery Fund, the Shallowford Trust has been able to appoint a volunteer coordinator to develop and streamline volunteering to the farm, and to support local causes, offering training, access support and participation in a good cause, whether it is working with young people, or in the nursery garden, or about the estate.
As former UN General Secretary said, ‘If our hopes of building a better and safer world are to become more than wishful thinking, we will need the engagement of volunteers more than ever.’ Kofi Annan.
THE NEXT SHALLOWFORD VOLUNTEER DAY IS TUESDAY 1st JULY. Contact fiona@shallowfordfarm.co.uk for further information.
Someone once said that ‘If you want to touch the past, touch a rock. If you want to touch the present, touch a flower. If you want to touch the future, touch a life.’
We can help with all of that at East Shallowford.
Or as St Peter wrote, if you have a gift, use it to serve others, and in doing so you are participating in the sharing of God’s grace.
Robert Musgrave MBE