What changeable weather we are having at present which is troublesome for our emerging seedlings. Having had a mini heat wave a fortnight ago to temperatures as low as 6 degrees forecast for tomorrow, they are struggling. Thankfully, the temperatures will be rising by the end of the week so lets hope they remain in double figures at least. Our big fear is having a frost, which would play havoc with the blossom now adorning our fruit trees in the orchard, and our crop for this year.
This week, we had West Wittering Primary School visit and they had fun making 4 different types of pesto to taste: sorrel, rocket, broad bean and land cress. This week, Abi has 50 6-7 year olds visiting from St Peters Catholic Primary School in Waterlooville, so she and her lovely education volunteers will be busy. She is looking to recruit a couple more education volunteers to assist her so if you know anyone that might like to help, please do get in touch. The visits are very rewarding and represent our main charitable objective, teaching children about the environment and food education is every aspect.
Last week, we managed a record 72 vegetable bags – the most we have done since the scheme started back in 2008. We do hope it is due to the message getting through on how beneficial it is for everyone to eat fruit and vegetables that have been grown organically. This is particularly relevant to children and we are passionate at Tuppenny Barn in getting the healthy eating message across to those that visit us. If anyone saw Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s latest campaign on TV last week, you will have heard the shocking statistics on obesity within the UK. We know that 1 in 5 children that leave Primary School today at the age of 11 is obese. It is a subject close to my heart and one that I hope that we continue to be as involved in with schools and colleges in the coming years.
This weekend, we had 500+ visitors to Tuppenny to view our contribution to the Arts Trail. We also had a plant sale on Saturday. There are still lots of plants for sale and will be available when the shop is open and also the forthcoming Bank holiday as we will be open fromSaturday until Monday inclusive. Do come along to meet the artists and tuck into some homemade refreshments made by Christine and our great volunteers (the marmalade flapjack and chocolate and beetroot brownies were sublime!).
On Friday, we had a visit from a professional fund raiser who came to chat to us about how we can improve in our fundraising efforts. Like other charities, we find it is a challenging time to remain sustainable whilst delivering our key charitable objectives. We were inspired by his passion and have lots of work now to try and translate his suggestions for us into practical actions.