For the past 20 years, I have felt privileged to see for myself the “muck and magic” Farms for City Children provides happen with my own eyes. I am Tracy Izod and I am the Trusts and Foundations Fundraiser at Farms for City Children.
When I first joined the charity in 2006, my office was a single bedroom in a cottage at the bottom of Burrow Lane at Nethercott House. I was the charity’s first dedicated fundraiser. That year, we were celebrating the charity’s 30th anniversary. Then came the 40th and now, almost unbelievably, the 50th!
Being based on the farm in those early years was such a joy. I spent time with the children and listened to teachers and farm staff talk about the changes they saw as each week progressed. Those conversations gave me a deeper understanding of what the charity offered children who visit us and helped me share its impact honestly with supporters.
Since then, I have watched the charity grow and now have the privilege of working with a brilliant fundraising team. Each person brings their own expertise, but we are united by the same belief in what a week on the farm can make possible for children and young people.
More than just a job
One of the most special things about Farms for City Children is that, for the people who work here, it has never felt like “just a job”. Staff across the charity care deeply about the experience children have on the farms and the difference it can make to their young lives.
I never cease to be amazed at the children’s reactions to being on the farms and the changes we see in them during their week is heartening. Children begin to notice things beyond the rush of everyday city life: where food comes from, how animals are cared for and what they themselves are capable of.
Those moments often bring tears to the eyes of the adults working alongside them. They are also what make the case for support more powerful than any set of figures or a letter ever could. That is why we actively encourage donors, funders and potential supporters to visit when children are staying to see for themselves the huge difference their support can make.
One morning at Nethercott, when I had only been there for a year or two, I remember sitting down with a teacher for a morning coffee and her telling me that she herself had stayed at Nethercott as a child. She added that when she became a teacher, she pressed her school’s head teacher to book a week and take a group of their inner-city London children to the farm. Then there she was, back in the same place she herself had loved, reliving memories from her own childhood and sharing them with her pupils. She said Nethercott was just as she remembered it and that it was a memory that would stay with her always.
The people behind the giving
Over the years, I have worked with every kind of supporter: individual donors, companies, trusts and foundations, community groups and people willing to take on demanding, and sometimes wonderfully eccentric, fundraising challenges!
Some people give regularly and without fuss for decades, others remember the charity in their will, and some ask friends and family to donate in memory of someone they loved. We once received a very large, entirely unexpected legacy from an author who had quietly given £10 a year and later left the charity more than £600,000 as we were his sole beneficiary! It was an extraordinary reminder that every relationship matters. All donations are powerful.
We are fortunate to have longstanding funders of all kinds who have supported Farms for City Children for many years, some since it was founded 50 years ago. Those relationships reflect the trust those donors place in our work and the importance of careful, thoughtful stewardship.
Generosity is not only financial. Volunteers have given time and practical skills to complete jobs that money alone cannot buy. They have helped maintain the farms and shared activities such as beekeeping, felt-making, pond dipping, willow weaving and batik with visiting children.
‘Bill the Bird’ at Wick Court is a perfect example of a volunteer who has worked with us for years. He comes to the farm and enthusiastically does birdwatching sessions and storytelling with visiting children. He is also a donor and has, in the past, organised a very challenging sponsored cycle for us alongside Wick Court’s local Doctor and the two of them raised lots of money for the charity.
What support has made possible
Supporters have enabled essential projects across all three farms. At Wick Court, grants helped save the Grade II* listed barn when the roots of an ash tree undermined its foundations causing subsidence and it began sinking into the moat. The project cost more than £70,000, funding was secured and the building was saved for years to come.
The house also needed a new roof because of water ingress. This was no ordinary roofing job though: several protected bat species use the roof space as a maternity roost, so the work had to be carefully planned and completed during the short period when the bats had left to hibernate in the Forest of Dean. Pictured below – Tracy on the roof at Wick during replacement.
At Nethercott House, a consortium of trusts and foundations funded the full restoration of the Victorian walled garden, which now produces large quantities of food for children’s meals. A substantial legacy grant from a family trust also enabled the farm to introduce rare breed Devon Ruby cattle, plant a heritage orchard and carry out major work to renovate old farm buildings at Burrow.
At Lower Treginnis the old tractor was being eroded by the coastal salt air and was beyond repair. Thanks to the generosity of a small family trust, it was replaced and the farm was hugely grateful for this.
The position of the farm at Lower Treginnis is spectacular but so is the weather! Our buildings, rooves and windows get a battering from harsh winds and driving rain, not to mention the salty air. Thanks to accessing funding from trusts and unrestricted grants we have been able to renew and revive windows and buildings sympathetically, using local tradespeople and specialists.
A moment I will always remember
Fundraising is ultimately about people, and some moments stay with you. The impact of that generosity can be seen in small moments on the farms – for example: children are encouraged to try new, fresh foods and often discover tastes and ingredients that are completely new to them. One child described the experience as “like biting into a rainbow”.
My daughter Shannon has completed both a tandem Skydive and the Three Peaks Challenge to raise money for our charity. As a parent, watching your daughter jump out of a plane for your cause is truly terrifying and not something I want to see again! Having said that, seeing someone take on something challenging because they believe in your charity’s work is both humbling and energising.
Why generosity matters now
After 20 years, I have seen how every kind of gift contributes to something much bigger. I have also seen how vital loyal supporters are when the charity faces circumstances beyond its control.
During the foot-and-mouth outbreak, the farms had to close to residential visits and some staff worked voluntarily to help the charity survive. Years later, Covid-19 brought another period of closure. The children could not come, but the farms still had to be maintained and the animals fed and cared for. Once again, supporters stepped forward and staff worked tirelessly to secure the funds needed to keep going.
As we celebrate 50 years, the need has not disappeared. Costs continue to rise, school budgets are under pressure and access to nature, food education and residential outdoor experiences cannot be taken for granted.
Every penny counts
Supporters sometimes tell me they cannot give very much. My answer is always the same: every penny counts. Every gift, large or small, helps another child experience a week of muck and magic.
As Farms for City Children marks its 50th anniversary, and I reflect on 20 years of seeing generosity in action, I want to say thank you. Every donation, grant, challenge, partnership, legacy and hour freely given has helped make this work possible.
By supporting the charity today, you can help ensure that more children, schools and communities’ benefit from everything a week on the farm can offer.
If you would like to help celebrate our 50th anniversary and join our many wonderful donors, please head over to our support us page. Every penny adds up to continuing to enable the many hundreds of children who pass through our gates to experience a week on the farm – thank you!
