Unicorns do exist…
We met a Unicorn yesterday … yes, really!
We went to Laurelview Equestrian Centre yesterday, where Robert and Linda Davis are social farmers with Rural Support NI. Robert takes a variety of animals to the patients at Muckamore Abbey Hospital weekly which he says is the best part of his week. It is great when we start a new social venture that there are those who have gone before us and we can learn from them. It gives us permission to dream, learn and imagine.
It was great this week to welcome the team from Adoption UK NI as we think through what it could mean for children and young people to have access to our working farm and be connected to nature.
It was exciting to meet with Stuart Buchanan CEO of YMCA North Down and hear all the projects they are doing, especially their work in supporting refugees. We talked about rhythms and the need for open spaces and how the farm can be such a therapeutic space.
We were able to attend training with Playboard NI (over zoom), learning about the importance of play in the outdoors, giving children space to be and to imagine. This is vital as we heard that almost four in every ten young people in Northern Ireland have experienced some form of childhood trauma (Queens University of Belfast and Ulster University, 2022) and yet through play resilience for the future can be built.
At Glenside Farm we have the opportunity to dream, to build and to make a difference. The Board of Directors met at the end of the week, facilitated by Tiziana O’Hara from Co-op Alternatives, to sharpen our vision, mission and values. It was great to look to the future and imagine the possibilities. Watch this space.
And finally … of course Unicorns exist! A picture says a thousand words.
Imagine a world with unicorns
