Field day!

Round & About

Old Woking

Five educational benifits of visiting a farm

• Sensory Development – toddlers discover and learn about their world through the five senses: touch, taste, smell, hearing and sight. What better place to awaken all of these than a farm? Stroking animals teach children about what different textures feel like. Do they prefer the soft touch of a rabbit compared to the wiry texture of a sheep? A farm is also the perfect place to develop the skill of listening. All of the baas, moos, oinks and neighs will help children identify the animals’ unique sounds. And there is no need to mention how smelly farms can be…

• Motor Skill Development – motor skills are constantly being developed through a toddler’s life. Motor skills are simply anything that uses their muscles. Gross motor skills involve large movements such as running across the field to greet a cow, or climbing up on a haybale. Fine motor skills are small movements such as holding a brush to groom a horse, or picking a blade of grass to feed the goats.

• Language Development – this is the process by which a toddler learns to understand and communicate. Now, the animals may not be able to talk back but children love to chat away to them and perhaps because they can’t respond the children fill the silence happily with even more chatter. And what a great place to learn lots of new words – it isn’t every day that you would need to use the words ‘combine harvester’.

• Empathy – toddlers begin to develop the ability to understand and share the feelings of others and this isn’t limited to other humans. Asking children questions such as, “Do you think the sheep likes being stroked?” and “Do you think the rabbit is hungry?” will help children consider their feelings.

• Food Production – it is more relevant than ever that children start understanding where food comes from. Learning that the lovely soft, feathery chickens produce eggs and that pulling on the tuft of green leaves will pull out a carrot is a great starting point. But why stop at the farm? Why not create a vegetable patch at home, or start with something more simple such as growing cress in a pot. The possibilities are endless!

With all of these benefits to be gained why not join Highfield and Brookham Schools on Friday 27th September, from 10am – 12pm, for their free hands-on educational farm experience morning for children aged 2+? They have teamed up with Mill Cottage Farm in Alton to bring all of these benefits to your child for free!

Sophie Baber, Head of Brookham School, says “Farms are magical places for little eyes and hands, and act as educational playgrounds for young minds. We are delighted to invite children aged 2+ to the farm as it is a great opportunity for them to learn about and interact with a variety of friendly farm animals, as well as the countryside and nature. Children will have the chance to stroke and brush the animals, aiding their sensory development, and to identify the animals, which can help encourage language development. We look forward to welcoming you to Brookham.”

Book your free place at highfieldandbrookham.co.uk/farm-visit

About Highfield and Brookham Schools:

• Highfield and Brookham Schools are in Liphook on the edge of the Surrey, Hampshire and West Sussex borders. They can be found nestled in the South Downs National Park off Highfield Lane.

• They are a nursery, pre-prep and prep school for children aged 3 -13.

• Optional boarding is available for children from Year 4.

• Facilities include a newly refurbished nursery, Forest School complete with a tree house, on-site swimming pool and 175 acres of grounds.

• Specialist teaching in PE, Modern Languages, Music and Forest School.

Highfield & Brookham

For any further information, please contact Charlotte Green on

[email protected]

 

 

Milestone millions

Round & About

Old Woking

In May we told you about the Community Foundation for Surrey and the work they do to support causes through its family of donors, they are now delighted to have reached a magnificent milestone

Emerge Advocacy_WEB
Artventure Trust_WEB

The Community Foundation for Surrey has now awarded more than £10million in grants to support local charities and community groups.

The philanthropic organisation works with local donors wanting to give back to their community by connecting them with projects in Surrey working to improve health and wellbeing, the disadvantaged, the environment, education, sports and the arts.

In 2018 and 2019, more than £1.4million was awarded across 436 grants – the greatest amount in a single year since the charity began.

Among those to have benefitted are Emerge Advocacy and Artventure Trust.

Emerge Advocacy was launched to provide mental health support to young people admitted to A&E at Guildford’s Royal Surrey County Hospital in response to their needs and vulnerabilities. Supportive adults operate as mentors for patients during their time in A&E and after to reduce anxiety and help young people engage with services which may be able to help.
Founder of Emerge Advocacy, Joy Wright said: “There has been significant demand for Emerge projects across a number of Surrey hospitals. This grant from the CFS has made it possible for us to launch a further project at St Peter’s Hospital, Chertsey, that is now busy supporting young people with a variety of mental health issues.”

The Artventure Trust works with adults with learning difficulties enabling them to be creative, have fun and make new friends in a supportive environment. Sessions improve self-expression, develop skills and enhance self-esteem through the use of a variety of materials and techniques allowing clients to produce unusual and exciting art.

Trustee of Artventure Trust, Paul Charlesworth said: “At a time when local authorities are cutting back on funding for learning disabled adults, we have been very lucky to have secured financial support through the CFS. This has allowed us to carry on with our work in support of one of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups in our society – for which we are most grateful.”

Announcing the fantastic achievement of the £10million milestone, CFS Chief Executive Laura Thurlow thanked all those who have helped reach this. She said: “Our aim is to encourage and inspire more local people to join our growing family of donors. If you are wanting to support your local community, we would love to hear from you.”

The Foundation is due to launch a report next year highlighting the needs that still exist in Surrey.

• More than £25million has been generated to support Surrey communities since 2005

• Each year the foundation supports more than 200 voluntary groups across the county

• UK Community Foundations have collectively awarded over £1 billion in grants

Surrey Community Foundation

For more information, visit

Perfect ingredients

Round & About

Old Woking

Surrey’s food and drink hero is back!

The multi award-winning Woking Food and Drink Festival is back for the seventh consecutive year.

Spread across Woking’s main pedestrian areas, the free to attend festival has all the ingredients to serve up three days of delicious feasting, fun entertainment and interactive activities for all the family, from Friday, 30th August to Sunday, 1st September.

Taking centre stage in Jubilee Square, the purpose-built Woking Shopping Demo Theatre, supported by culinary innovator Magimix, will be home to 20 free live cookery demonstrations featuring celebrity and local chefs.

The festival is set to welcome back, Sabrina Ghayour – a successful author, cookery class and supper club host and regular TV guest presenter on BBC’s Saturday Kitchen. Also making appearances are Surrey-based Chris Bavin, co-presenter on BBC’s popular Eat Well For Less and Martha Collison, Great British Bake Off quarter finalist, Waitrose food columnist and cookbook author.

A visit to the festival would not be complete without a foraging mission among over 80 food and drink traders; all fully stocked with artisan products, freshly prepared dishes and tipples.

Don’t forget to save some room for a free bite-size talk or two on a vast range of subjects from gin distilling to bees and spices to butchery.

Topping off this free to attend gastronomic experience, there’s also a smorgasbord of family entertainment on the menu – children’s cup cake decorating workshops, culinary inspired masterpieces at the arts and crafts workshops, street entertainers, live music and much more!

Wokingham Food & Drink Festival

For more information, including how to book a place on some of the bookable activities…

Love local at Winkworth

Round & About

Old Woking

Join the party at arboretum – it’s much more than a walk in the woods!

Winkworth Arboretum is throwing a party – and everyone is invited to join the fun on Sunday, 1st September. For the 10th year in a row, the arboretum will buzz with song, dance and activity for Live Local, Love Winkworth, a spectacular community day in celebration of all things local.

Local artists, small businesses and charities will line the paths of the arboretum, near Godalming, transforming the woodland into a hive of activity and adventure to inspire all ages. The National Trust is even waiving the entrance fee for the day, so everyone can enjoy the party atmosphere.

Featuring a packed programme of events, there will be a whole host of delights to discover throughout the day. Visitors will have the chance to see local craftspeople in action and talk to them about their work. They will be able to get up close to creatures great and small, including alpacas and awe-inspiring birds of prey, watching the birds take flight in flying displays in the meadow.

The Fleur-de-Lys Morris dancers from Godalming will be returning with a colourful display of dancing. There will also be a varied programme of music throughout the day, featuring bands including the Friday Five jazz quintet, the You Ukes ukulele band and George’s Coastline Jazz Band. Each group will bring their unique sounds and rhythms to the arboretum.

There will be tasty treats a-plenty, with local food stalls selling everything from popcorn to burgers, handmade chocolate to nut butters. The Arbor tearoom will be open all day serving drinks, snacks and hot lunches, with vegetarian options available. If it’s a hot day visitors will be able to cool down with refreshing scoops of ice-cream by Jude’s.

Meanwhile, young adventurers can explore the natural play area, or climb up to the very top of the trees as they explore the Tree Adventure and let off steam on the rope tunnel, fireman’s pole and mini climbing wall.

For a longer day out, a walk down to the boathouse is just the thing. Settle down on a seat by the lake and watch the world go by or stroll along the paths and through to Badgers Bowl then climb up to the viewing platform for beautiful views across the countryside.

With 130 acres of glorious woodland to explore, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. If you have never visited Winkworth Arboretum, or haven’t visited for a while, come along – it’s far more than just a walk in the woods.

Join the party:

Live Local, Love Winkworth is free for all visitors and is open from 11am-4pm. call 01483 208477 or find out more at… 

Ridgefest

Round & About

Old Woking

Raise a glass of Ridgeview English Sparkling Wine to Ridgefest 

 

Following its huge success in 2018, Ridgefest is back this year on 24th August – and it’s going to be bigger and better than ever before.  

Nestled among the vines of the Ridgeview Wine Estate, with a stunning backdrop of the South Downs, Ridgefest is the perfect summer day out, bursting with beautiful food, great live music and of course, award-winning English Sparkling Wine will be flowing. 

Ridgeview started in 1995 and more than 20 years later, production has increased to more than a quarter of a million bottles, sold worldwide. 

2019’s line-up promises to delight all the senses – there will be delicious offerings from an eclectic selection of street food vendors, live bands and acoustic sets, DJ sets and a silent disco. Added to this is Ridgeview Sparkling Wine as well as unique drinks offerings in the cocktail lounge and tours of the vineyard and winery. 

Ridgefest is held at a winery and is so much more than a traditional wine festival – like the ethos of Ridgeview itself, Ridgefest promises to be a fun, unique, fantastic festival for all.  

The festival in Ditchling Common, Sussex, welcomes around 600 guests, between noon and 10pm.

Tickets

Available to buy from the Ridgeview website

Be Nice, Say Hi!

Round & About

Old Woking

Respecting the rights of all users is the idea behind a new campaign which has launched in the Surrey Hills 

 

Visitors to the Surrey Hills are encouraged to “Be Nice, Say Hi”, as the Surrey Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) adopts the joint campaign to help cyclists and horse riders to pass safely. 

Cycling UK and The British Horse Society (BHS) joined forces to launch a consideration and courtesy awareness message of Be Nice, Say Hi to help users to pass safely last summer, as they believed better advice was needed for people cycling to understand how to overtake horses safely.  

The Surrey Hills AONB is the first area in the south east to take up the initiative. Board director Rob Fairbanks said: “We are thrilled to be collaborating with Cycling UK and the British Horse Society to raise awareness of shared access in our landscape and respecting the rights of all users.” 

Lovers of the outdoors will soon notice the discreet message of Be Nice, Say Hi appearing on signposts across the region, however for more detailed information the charities have produced a downloadable leaflet and two short films. 

Duncan Dollimore, Cycling UK’s head of campaigns said: “Every time a cyclist encounters a horse, there are three brains involved: the cyclist’s, the rider’s and the horse’s. Many people aren’t familiar with horses, and there can be confusion on what they should do when overtaking on a bike. 

He urged cyclists to be more aware when passing horses and added Cycling UK was delighted to be the BHS promote the Be Nice, Say Hi message. 

Horses can react quickly when startled, so the two charities are encouraging cyclists to drop their pace and call out a greeting, giving the horse and rider time to react before overtaking wide and slow. By alerting the rider and horse to their presence, cyclists run less risk of the horse reacting, and reduce the risk of injury – not just to the rider and their horse, but also themselves.  

Mark Weston, director of access at The British Horse Society said they were thrilled to see the area adopting the message. 

He said:  As vulnerable road users, horse riders, carriage drivers and cyclists face considerable dangers on our roads and the need for safer off road riding opportunities has never been greater. 

The first sign was put up close to Mane Chance Sanctuary in Compton, Surrey. Founding trustee and actor Jenny Seagrove hopes to see the campaign take up elsewhere. 

She said:The welfare of horses is at the very heart of what we do at Mane Chance Sanctuary and I think the Be Nice, Say Hi campaign should be applauded for considering the needs of both horses and humans as they share our beautiful countryside.”    

Parade with Pride

Karen Neville

Old Woking

Woking is the venue for the first Pride event to take place in Surrey and Woking couldn’t be prouder to be hosting the celebration.

The colourful vibrant parade will start at HG Wells Conference Centre, when accompanied by the Mayor of Woking it will pass through the town gates and around the centre.

From midday the gates will open in Woking Park where you can enjoy live entertainment on the big stage until 10pm. There will be a large family/youth zone including activities, workshops, face paint and support guidance as well as food and drink stalls and local traders.

The chairman of Pride in Surrey, Stephen Ireland said not only does this year mark the 50th anniversary of Stonewall but also now the first year of an LGBT+ Pride event in Surrey.

He said: “I am thrilled to be working with such a supportive council and Outline Surrey to not only create an amazing event but also raise awareness of the available support to those within the community.”

Mayor of Woking, cllr Will Forster, said they were delighted Woking will host the inaugural Pride in Surrey parade on Saturday, 10th August.

He said: “It is another example of Woking’s growing reputation for hosting colourful and inclusive annual events.

“Pride in Surrey celebrates the inclusion and diversity of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT+) culture and community within Surrey.”

Want to go?

Tickets are required for the event in Woking Park, they are free to all but organisers need you to register to plan for your health and safety.

For more information

Millie’s Milestone

Round & About

Old Woking

Local mum Jessica Simmons explains more about how you can help her wonderful daughter walk, run and jump like any other child

Millie was born at 29 weeks weighing just 3lbs 2oz. Having spent time at the special care baby unit at Royal Surrey County Hospital under a special lamp to treat jaundice, we faced the first major battle – a feeding problem. Her tummy would swell when she had breast milk which meant her feeds would be dropped and then started again. Eventually the swelling stopped and she was growing well.

A routine brain ultrasound revealed ‘white matter’ which we were told is normal in pre-term babies. Finally, our time in SCBU was over and we were able to go home to Millie’s sisters and enjoying having three happy healthy girls.

We were admitted to hospital several times the first winter when she contracted bronchiolitis. At the last admission she was connected to a CPAP machine to help her breathe as it was so laboured.

At home we carried on like any other family. Millie wasn’t reaching the milestones of other children, but we put this down to her being born early and that eventually she would roll over, sit and crawl.

At her yearly review we talked about how Millie’s legs were very stiff and tight which made getting her into a sitting position very difficult. A few days later we received a letter – one part stuck out – “Millie is showing signs of Diplegic Cerebral Palsy”. I stood in my kitchen reading the letter and it just felt like my world was falling apart. I felt so alone.

A consultant confirmed Millie was showing signs of Diplegic Cerebral Palsy, which causes tense muscles and spasms. Leg muscles tend to be very tight, and over time, this causes joints to stiffen reducing movement. Since Millie was diagnosed she has tackled so many obstacles, and we have too – our day-to-day lives have changed dramatically, we have had to learn various ways of aiding Millie. She has developed her own way of carrying out everyday movement.

When Millie was diagnosed we began looking for answers and stumbled upon SDR – Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy, the nerves which cause the spasticity in the legs are cut. We are due to see specialists at Great Ormond Street in September to see if it’s suitable for Millie. We have to meet the NHS funding guidelines but that’s no guarantee of getting the financial help. Since last June we have been fundraising – holding a grand ball, doing obstacle courses and quiz nights. But we need to raise a lot more. The operation isn’t a miracle cure, Millie will need to have several years of intensive physiotherapy to get the most out of this.

Millie is amazing, every day she has a smile on her face and we want to share that with everyone!

Donate to the cause

The Big Butterfly Count

Round & About

Old Woking

Join the Big Butterfly Count and spot the species

This summer marks the 10th anniversary of the Big Butterfly Count – the world’s largest butterfly survey. 

Wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation is calling on everyone to do as many 15-minute counts as possible between today, Friday 19th and Sunday, 11th August. 

Just record what you see and send your results to www.bigbutterflycount.org or submit them using the free Big ButterflyCount app. 

Last year a record 100,000 participants took part, spotting almost one million butterflies across the UK. 

This summer, experts are keen to see how common garden butterflies are faring, as despite many species bouncing back in the 2018 heatwave, colourful favourites such as the Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock both recorded poor years.  

Butterfly Conservation vice-president Chris Packham is following in the footsteps of Sir David Attenborough by getting behind the campaign this year. 

Chris said: “It’s easy to feel powerless when confronted with endless decline statistics from birds to bees to butterflies, but the fight for our environmental future starts with small acts, it starts with you.  

“That’s why I urge you to take part in the Big Butterfly Count this summer. By taking part in the count you are showing that our butterflies, our wildlife and our environment are worth fighting for.” 

Get involved:

People can take part in their gardens or local parks, but there are plenty of free events taking place across the country too – more details can be found here…

30 Days Wild challenge

Round & About

Old Woking

Picture credit: Nick Upton

More than 10 million random acts of wildness in month-long challenge

More than 400,000 people carried out in excess of 10 million ‘random acts of wildness’ as part of the 30 Days Wild Challenge in June.

Wildlife enthusiasts were encouraged to do something wild and enjoy nature every day, taking part in the Wildlife Trusts’ initiative which proved to be more popular than ever this year.

As well as the 50,000 households who signed up for their free packs, wall charts, stickers and wildflower seeds, more than 9,000 schools, 1,300 businesses and 570 care homes also took part.

Wildlife Trusts’ head of communications Joanna Richards said: “It’s been an extraordinarily wild month! We’ve loved seeing the creative and inventive activities of people taking part right across the UK – getting up close to bugs, butterflies and birds, rewilding a garden or making a daisy chain.  You don’t need to go far to appreciate wildlife and often the simplest interactions can bring us the most joy.”

Wildlife gardening in homes, care homes and schools was a popular activity, with people creating small ponds, building homes for bugs, sowing wildflowers, noticing the birds and insects that visited and pledging not to mow their lawns, to encourage more variety of wildlife to flourish.

Other Random Acts of Wildness included:

– Waking up early to hear the dawn chorus at its best

– Organising beach cleans and litter picks

– Noticing a rainbow of flowers and trees growing in towns and countryside

– Creating wild works of art from petals, leaves and feathers.

– Care homes residents and carers have enjoyed planting pollinator-friendly blooms, making leaf art and creating wild playlists, with music inspired by nature.