‘Ordinary and extraordinary’ - Kilkenny family farm showcases Social Farming

The sun shone bright for the second day of National Social Farming Awareness Week 2023 when Richard and Áine Galway held a very successful Social Farming Open Day on their beautiful farm outside Thomastown.

It was a great gathering of participants, services, neighbours and friends and farmers, some of whom had travelled from as far as Waterford, Tipperary and Kildare.
All were keen to gain an insight into what Social Farming is all about and to what the Galway farm has to offer to participants.

Social Farming is about providing opportunities and activities on ordinary family farms as a form of social support. People come to a social farm, usually one day a week, and get to be part of whatever is happening on the farm on that day, with huge benefits and real outcomes across multiple dimensions of health and well-being.

“Our social farms are both ordinary and extraordinary places,” noted Social Farming Ireland National Coordinator Helen Doherty, speaking during the week.

“They provide such huge variety and choice for people regardless of their interests or capacities. People can get involved in every kind of activity, from caring for animals to walking the land to growing food from seed to harvest to maintenance activities like scraping the yard or power washing to cooking in the farm kitchen.”

There are now 140 social farms operating all over the country and interest in and support for Social Farming continues to grow. Click NEXT for more photographs and to read more about the open day.