For all the latest news from Deen City Farm and Riding School sign up to our newsletter:
Subscribe to our Newsletter
Category:
Education
Celebrate International Left Handed Day
Join us for a free booking reading of The Left-Handed Champ on Sunday 13th August!
To celebrate International Left Handed day we are hosting the author, Sophia and illustrator, Earl of the Callum & Treasures series!
Sunday 13th August 2023
10:30- 14:00
No need to book
About Callum & Treasures
Join the remarkable journey of Callum & Treasures, a blossoming brand that draws inspiration from the extraordinary connection between siblings. Earl, a South London artist and resident illustrator at Samsung KX, found himself captivated by the boundless imagination of his sister and writer, Sophia. Together, their collaboration flourished as Earl brought her enchanting tales to life, igniting a shared vision to celebrate children everywhere.
Dedicated to the joy of childhood, Callum & Treasures crafts a delightful array of merchandise and storybooks that kindle the imagination including their much-adored debut children's storybook, 'The Left-handed Champ,' that encourages children to be resilient when faced with challenges, in a fun way. Be sure to check out their new children's storybook I AM VIOLET, a whimsical story about a girl named Violet and just like a shrinking violet flower that hides - she is shy until she comes across a big problem in her town one day. This book encourages confidence, being a leader and speaking up.
This sibling duo weaves together art, storytelling, and the magic of childhood.
Canons Summer Fair 2023
We are excited to be a part of the Canons Sustainable Summer Fair again this year!
Come along to meet some of our animals and join in with all the other fun filled activities throughout the day.
Saturday 29th July 2023
11:00 - 16:00
Ukulele Man Private Tours!
NEW FOR 2023!
Private tours around the farm are now available with our resident Ukulele Man.
The tours run for 45 minutes. They are full of music, interactive fun and farm animals. They can be tailored to an adult or child audience (or a mixture of both!)
Private tours are £65 for a maximum of 15 people. (Larger groups could potentially be accommodated)
For enquiries, availability and to book your private ukulele tour please contact: information@deencityfarm.co.uk
The Ukulele Man is also available for off-site events, please email for a bespoke quote.
More animal care courses announced. How to Keep… Guinea Pigs, Rabbits and Ferrets. Saturday afternoons in August
More animal care courses at Deen City Farm! On three Saturdays in August, 2pm to 4pm, we’ll be running three short courses on How to Keep… Guinea Pigs, Rabbits and Ferrets. Two hours covering all aspects of caring for these small furries, with plenty of contact time. Oh alright then, cuddles. August 4th– Guinea Pigs. August 11th – Rabbits. August 18th – Ferrets. Just £15 a place, 10 places per course. Everyone over 7 welcome. Suitable for prospective and current owners.
Book here
New course! Introduction to Keeping Chickens. Limited places.
On Saturday July 28th, 1pm to 4pm, right here on the Farm, we’ll be running an “Introduction to Keeping Chickens” course for anyone thinking of getting their own chickens. No existing knowledge required. We’ll cover everything you need to think about and plan for, with advice on choosing breeds, on what equipment you’ll need to buy, and how to look after your chickens. The three-hour course will include plenty of hands-on time learning how to handle chickens safely and confidently. It’ll be a hen party, but you’ll be left with a great feeling (and handouts) instead of a hangover. £25 per person, children over 7 welcome. Includes refreshments. To make sure everyone has lots of chicken-time, there’ll be just 8 places. Book early!
The course will be run by Nick Golson, Farm Manager, RAU graduate and chicken-liker.
What the course will cover:
Thinking it all through: reasons to keep chickens, commonly asked questions
What you need in terms of housing and equipment, how to deal with foxes, what to feed
How to choose and buy the chickens: hybrids, pure breeds, bantams
How to get them home and settle them in
The daily, weekly and monthly routine
Pest control and predators
Seasonal care
Behaviour
Eggs
Basic anatomy, general health and health problems
When to call the vet
Job Opportunity: Education & Outreach Manager
We’re currently recruiting for a new Education & Outreach Manager to join our team at Deen City Farm!
Education & Outreach Manager
Hours: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week, but applicants interested in part-time, term-time or flexible working welcome.
Salary: Up to £22,000 per annum plus pension contribution
Deen City Farm and Riding School is looking for an enthusiastic and motivated Education and Outreach Manager to drive forward the development of our education, training, and outreach projects. This is a rare opportunity to work on a Farm without leaving the city, and to join a small team of creative and passionate people working in a unique setting. If you love people, animals, the outdoors, and sharing your enthusiasm then this could be the job for you.
The new Manager will establish a clear vision and direction for the Farm’s educational and outreach programmes; maintain and develop our links with local schools, colleges and community groups; design and run a programme of school visits, tours, workshops and events that effectively use the Farm’s resources to fulfil its educational mission; promote the Farm’s work at external events and work with partners to extend the Farm’s outreach into the community. Teaching experience of some sort will be an advantage, but the ability to communicate effectively with young people of all ages and backgrounds is more important. An awareness of safeguarding and health and safety issues is essential.
If you would like to have an informal discussion about the post, please contact Nick Golson at manager@deencityfarm.co.uk or tel.: 0208545 2177
Application for the above position is by CV and a covering statement that must relate to the job description and person specification.
For a full job pack:
• Download one here
• Request one by email from manager@deencityfarm.co.uk
• Send a self-addressed stamped A4 envelope with a note stating that you are requesting information about the Education and Outreach Manager position to:
The Operations Manager
Deen City Farm and Riding School
39 Windsor Avenue
Merton
SW19 2RR
Closing date for completed applications: 5pm Friday 12th May 2018. Interviews week beginning Monday 15th May 2018.
Applications are accepted by email, post and in person.
If you’re interested in any other paid openings at Deen City Farm, please keep an eye on our vacancies page on the website.
Incubating with Netmums
Easter’s over, now if only the sun would come back and warm everything up again, brr!
A big thank you to everyone who came down to visit, it was a very busy two weeks. All the animals (and staff I’m sure) will be glad to have a little bit of calm before May half term. During Easter, as well as our popular Hug A Lamb with Edgar and Eleanor (who are now back to living with the rest of the sheep, their work is done!) and Animal Handling in the marquee we had some new chick arrivals!
If you happen to follow NetMums on Facebook, you might have seen a familiar logo on an incubator during one of their live streams a few weeks ago. We had started incubating some of our chicken eggs to test everything before we begin our School Incubator Scheme next term, when NetMums got in touch wanting to broadcast it on their Facebook page. Given that we already had some on the go, it made sense to go with it!
Out of the 10 eggs, only about half of them were fertile. And of course, after saying how good chickens are at hatching on the dot on day 21 of incubation, most of them decided to hatch a day early, leaving us with one lone egg on live stream day! If you want to watch the hatching process, you can see the video on their Facebook page here. The hatching process takes a long time, so if you want to skip to the interesting parts, have a look from 1:30:00 onward.
The chicks are now housed in our Incubation Shed – the newest part of the renovations to our bird area at the entrance side of the farm. They’re still a bit too small to go outside, so have to stay with a heat lamp for now, but hopefully in a few weeks and when the weathers warmer they’ll be able to come outside properly.
On the topic of incubating though, in the next two weeks we’ll be starting our School Incubator Scheme (which is already fully booked for this academic year!). In another month and a half we’ll be welcoming back all the chicks that various local schools have hatched, so there’ll be plenty to see! If you’re interested in buying chickens to keep, whilst we don’t have any for sale at the moment, we will do in a few months time!