River Bourne Community Farm - Salisbury
 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
River Bourne Community Farm is open from 9am -
4pm Tuesday – Friday and 10am to 1pm on Saturdays and we are very happy
to receive visitors. Entry is free for everyone and we very much hope
you have an enjoyable time. Upkeep for the animals costs around £4,000
each year so we are always very grateful to receive donations to the
farm. The farm is based on land adjacent to Cow Lane in the village of Laverstock, Salisbury. Initially on 63 acres of land adjoining the River Bourne, the farm has developed into a sustainable working farm, supported by staff and by volunteers. The farm site was first occupied in January 2010 is managed by The River Bourne Community Farm C.I.C. (This is a 'Community Interest Company' designed specifically for those wishing to operate for the benefit of the community rather than for the benefit of the owners of the company). The farm is being developed with new buildings being constructed from locally sourced materials, a recycled Dutch barn, livestock pens and paddocks and hedge planting and maintenance. Some of the hedgerows have been re-laid with special attention paid to the habitats of the local wildlife; we have also made provisions of alternate habitats such as bee and bat boxes, a bog garden and an insect hotel. Permissive paths are maintained throughout the farm and the parish in the form of four accessible Nature & Art trails, these have been provided to encourage managed public access. Education plays a large part of the farm, giving local schools and community groups access to the day-to-day work of the farm whilst stressing the sustainability and ecologically sound practices which are employed. BTEC Courses are delivered four days a week currently, both on and off site, with students undertaking many day to day duties on the farm and learning about safe working practice, animal health and welfare and land management. | |||||||||||||||||||||||