Easter is almost upon us and even though it is much earlier this year we had hoped to be able to re-open for the Bank Holiday weekend.
Sadly with almost 5 months of continuous rain, the ground conditions have meant that all the animals are still in their winter quarters and still not able to go and play in the paddocks which are getting quite lush and grassy now.
The areas where the public walk is still very soggy and very muddy and quite unsuitable for visitors to walk on.
Although it doesn't feel like it Hensell Goat Rescue Care Farm are very lucky with the way the wet weather has drained off so well, the poor farmers in many of the fields in the surrounding areas are re-ploughing crops for a third time and this will have dreadful knock on effect on the costs for consumers next year and no doubt our animal feed prices will rise again as there will be a short supply.
Another great disappointment to our farm this Spring is the hope that we might finally be able to have good public toilet facilities. In June 2023 we submitted an application to a local fund pot and they were very positive about all our Care Farm activities and how much we help the local Community with wellbeing and mental health with our animal assisted therapy services we offer through the goats and visits in to the local area to elderly care homes, residential homes, hospitals and schools in the Mablethorpe area.
All was looking very promising as the months rolled by and we even instructed builders and were really looking forward to being able to provide a building housing first class facilities but most importantly there were going to be 2 fully accessible toilets for our visitors with mobility problems, something we have been very keen to address.
All winter we were in limbo and finally we received that all important phone call from the organisation... They had good news and bad!
The good news was that they totally loved all the community work we did in the area for the all the groups we visit on a regular basis, even the fact that we spend time doing free of charge school educational visits teaching the children the importance how various breeds of goats play a role in today's farming. How we hold weekly Farmday Clubs (originally the Tuesday Club but due to demand, we had to include extra afternoons) for local residential homes where adults with learning difficulties visit the farm and help out with jobs and fun activities. These regular groups found their weekly visits very beneficial and really looked forwards to their time on the farm, even if it were only for the lashings of coffee and wedges of cake at breaktime! again offered to this community totally free of charge.
The bad news...the funding panel had held a meeting and decided not to support us! We were gutted! It had meant so much in our development as a small project but we were rejected but to add salt to the wound, they gave money we so badly needed to a more established project over 20 miles away, totally out of the area of criteria. We feel so deflated!
Our groups are bitterly disappointed, as now it means, that we cannot continue to invite them to the farm which will very likely have quite a negative effect on some of the individuals who benefitted greatly from their time with us and they won't be able to understand why we have let them down and why they can't come to us anymore.
So, until such time we can either raise the money by fund raising ourselves or we find another funding source who wont leave us in limbo for 9 months before they drop the bomnshell!
On a brighter note...the sun is shining today and the spring flowers are in full bloom, the darkness of winter is finally disappearing and the holiday makers are bringing life to the resorts again...
Happy Easter to everyone!!
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