Huckleberries Nurture Farm helps children re-connect after lockdown

3rd July 2020 | News in your area

Huckleberries Nurture Farm helps children re-connect after lockdown

Huckleberries was established in 2019 to build resilience in primary aged children and young people by helping them to adjust the way they think about or react to life’s challenges and become comfortable with who they are, with the longer term aim of smoothing the transition into their teen years. They use therapeutic contact with animals and wellbeing techniques such as yoga, mindfulness, art and journaling, whilst immersed in nature, to enhance the emotional and mental wellbeing of the children

After a successful pilot last year Huckleberries received support from the National Lottery, enabling them to provide a free programme to 98 children (3,500 hours), as well as offering sessions to schools in a position to fund themselves. They also moved from their garden site just before lockdown, after Bridget Biddell DL visited them and offered her larger site for them to relocate to. With the help of Bridget and volunteers they have created a cosy basecamp amongst the trees with access to the beautiful surrounding fields, woodland and river.

The impact of COVID-19 has affected the emotional wellbeing of many children so “it was fantastic to be able to reopen our gates on 9^th June” explains Beverley Cook, one of the founding Directors of the community interest company. “We’re now in week 4 and the children are fully immersed in what we offer here. COVID-19 and lockdown affected each child differently, some had lost touch with their friends, lost relatives, were struggling without their daily routine that provides stability, so we’ve taken it slowly giving them lots of opportunities to share their stories and worries for the future as they re-connect with each other and learn life skills that will help them to be, and to love, who they really are.” read more