01/06/10

Royal recognition for care farming

His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales recently welcomed more than 100 care farmers and their supporters to Highgrove for a lunch reception marking the National Care Farming Initiative’s five-year anniversary.

The Prince’s reception was attended by representatives from the NCFI and its partners: The Arthur Rank Centre, The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens, The University of Essex and Harper Adams University College; care farmers from across the UK and others representing the statutory, commercial and charitable sectors.

The reception was a wonderful opportunity for all the hard work that care farmers do around the country to be recognised and appreciated. Acknowledgement by HRH the Prince of Wales of the inspiring work that is undertaken on care farms and his heartfelt speech to those present was a great boost for the care farmers, as was the opportunity to meet others from around the UK involved in similar work.

Looking around at so many care farmers on the day, it hardly seems possible that it’s been only five years since we held the first national care farming conference when NCFI was born. So much has happened since then!