As well as our cattle and sheep, Lauriston Farm is now home to three chickens...
Our latest batch of North Ronaldsay organic sheepskin rugs are now available to purchase. Please view our large selection of rugs on the Organic Sheepskins page of our web site.
A selection are shown below: Check out the new pages added to our web site. You can now read about the conservation work happening at the farm as well as the new care/therapeutic farming initiative being created that centres around a new vegetable garden with raised beds and wooden boardwalk paths.
View the pages here: It has been such a wet period recently that we have had to move a majority of the sheep into the barn. The fields are so wet at the moment that this will help to prevent foot rot and other problems with the sheep's hooves. The Tuesday volunteers helped Spencer prepare the barn for the sheep last week and then get them inside the barn. This week we were busy putting more straw bedding down on the floor for them. The cattle are on the opposite side of the barn in a separate enclosure. Spencer always keeps the cattle in the barn for a few months over the winter for the main purpose of collecting their manure.
Lauriston Farm is delighted to announce the launch of a Steiner Waldorf inspired parent and child group. The group will meet weekly on Tuesday mornings from 10:30am until 12:30pm beginning on Tuesday 4th February 2014. Each session will be kept to a maximum of seven children so please book places in advance.
For more information please see our Parent and Child Group page. Over nearly ten years I have been slowly developing Lauriston Farm and it has become a place devoted to the practical application of Anthroposophy. This came initially through the Biodynamic method of farming and, from this under-pinning, other aspects of Anthroposophy have emerged.
Now, the farm organism of two hundred and fifteen acres is fully certified to Demeter standards. It also has a high conservation aspect due to its location on the shore of the Blackwater Estuary in Essex. The organism consists of people, cattle, sheep, pigs, chickens, bees, vegetables, fruits, woodland and salt marsh. We have a strong social aspect with over three hundred people coming through the farm last year on guided walks, attending our beginner’s biodynamic course, volunteering and work experience. For eighteen months we hosted a Nature Nursery and next year we are starting our own Steiner Parent and Child Group. For this, six of us are forming a Social Enterprise with the additional aim of bringing a Steiner Kindergarten to this part of Essex, initially on the farm. We have also been developing a Celestial Garden which provides wheelchair users and others with gardening and recreational opportunities. This will provide the core to the future therapeutic farming aspect which is aiming to bring Camphill philosophy into a day care setting. A French Eurythmist, Mia Boutemy, is bringing this social art here through a series of workshops starting in January and we are actively involved in the Colchester Steiner Study Group. All this is being carried by my full time commitment and over a dozen local volunteers which includes my parents who legally own and live on the farm. It has been clear to me for some time that there now exists the opportunity for a fellow student of Anthroposophy to help out with all this activity on at least a part time basis. The farm currently doesn’t create enough income to pay a wage for this however I am developing accommodation to offer and there are income generating opportunities here. In addition, there may be training opportunities as we are starting the application process for the Biodynamic Apprenticeship scheme. Practical farming experience is not essential but an interest in gardening would be useful. Most important is that we can work well together and that you feel connected to this setting and Anthroposophy. In truth, I don’t know the exact 'person profile' or 'required skillset' but I do have hope that the right person will find us. Please feel free to contact me for further information. Spencer Christy A group from 'Food from the Sky', a permaculture food growing and educational initiative on the roof top of a supermarket in North London, visisted Lauriston Farm on Saturday 2nd November. Please see foodfromthesky.org.uk for more details of their initiative. They have very kindly written a report on their visit and included a few photos for us to post on the web site: Five of us came to visit Lauriston Farm after Spencer taught an “introduction to biodynamics” workshop, as part of our urban food growing course with Food from the Sky. We were enchanted by biodynamics after this one-day workshop and jumped at the chance to visit the farm. The next one day introduction to biodynamics course will be held on Saturday 22nd of February 2014 at a cost of £35. Please click here for more details about the course.
On the 23rd of November, Spencer at Lauriston Farm is giving a tour of the farm that is open to everyone who is interested, starting at 11 a.m., free of charge. Places are limited and must be booked in advance.
Please contact us if you have any questions. This day is now fully booked. We will be running another 'Open Tour' next year but, in the meantime, you can arrange a tour with us if you have a minimum of six people. We had a busy day last Tuesday (15th) at Lauriston Farm. The Tuesday volunteers (Christiane, Gordon and Martin) came to help Spencer for the day. The centre circle in the Celestial Garden is being cleared of weeds and Gordon has been busy making the central hexagon and benches around the walnut tree in the centre. The hexagon will contain six beds - one for each of the compost preparation plants (dandelion, yarrow, chamomile, nettle, horsetail and valerian).
In the afternoon, we got two of the compost preparations ready for burying over the winter. The dried dandelion flowers were stuffed into part of a cows mesentary and wrapped into a ball, and the dried chamomile flowers were stuffed into parts of a cows intestine. They will be buried over the winter and dug up around Easter time. |
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