Thanks to players of The Health Lottery, £20,000 was donated in April 2025 to Farms for City Children to help deliver immersive, five-day, fully catered farm residentials to children and young people (CYP) experiencing inequality from across England and Wales.
These residentials focused on outdoor learning, food and farming and took place on three heritage farms in Devon, Gloucestershire and Pembrokeshire.
Who did the money help?
The donation contributed to 3396 children from schools and 157 CYP from youth and community groups aged 8 – 19 taking part in a farm residential in 2025.
This meant 116 weeks of immersive residentials across three heritage farms. Farms for City Children partnered with 108 schools. 80 of these were returning schools and 28 were new. In addition, they welcomed 8 community groups, five were returning ones and three were new.
Key feedback from participants
At the end of their residential:
- 100% of teachers and group leaders reported a positive impact on growth mindset.
- 99% saw improved understanding of the farm-to-fork journey.
- 90% noted gains in confidence, curiosity, connections, communication and collaboration.
- 86% of CYP said they knew more about nature.
- 72% of CYP said they had a stronger “not giving up” attitude than before.
A school’s story
A visiting teacher from County Bridge Primary School, Walsall said,
“The children have all grown in confidence and had the opportunity to just be children! It has been amazing to see our children in a different environment without technology. Our children rarely get the opportunity to experience and appreciate the outdoors and environment around them. Being here, the children have embraced the outdoors and have learned how they play a big part in being responsible for caring for it. All the staff have also learned a lot about farming and how to care for the outdoors. These key facts and learning will help enhance our follow up work which we complete back in school. Truly amazing and awe inspiring – this is one of our key year 6 activities and without it, children would miss out on so much!”
A young person who visited a farm said,
“I feel like the wind is saying hello and my eyes feel fresh and as if they’re seeing stuff for the first time.”
Over the last year, Farms for City Children report that they have seen more than ever, the need for residential food, farming and nature- based experiences.
All evidence suggests that children in primary schools are now starting their school years with delayed development, poor language skills, reduced attention, lower self-regulation and limited experience of sustained play. The impact of the farm residential experience on individual children who lack confidence and communication skills can be life changing.
We’re thrilled to have been able to support and visit Farms for City Children in 2025. We look forward to hearing more from the charity in 2026, their 50th anniversary year.