Creative Moments at Wick Care Farm

Creativity is a constant throughout the structured day at Wick Care Farm. It plays a part in everything we do – from imaginative touches in our home-cooked lunches and ‘innovative’ fence repairs, to ensuring a given activity is accessible for our diverse community. Creativity can also be found in the little moments that make Wick Care Farm so special. On one autumnal afternoon – while harvesting farm-favourite uchiki-kuri & crown prince squash – our Wednesday students decided to show their creativity in abundance…

Admittedly, not all pumpkins were so easily moved. This year, Joel, our Duty Manager & gardener extraordinaire, hosted a giant pumpkin growing competition for members of the Wick Care Farm community. 5 ‘Atlantic Giant’ seeds were distributed, and guessing their weights caused quite a stir at our Winter Welcome!

The farm’s oblong belter (centre) weighed in at 43.1kg, while Clair’s yellow whopper (left)  was a denser 46.1kg. The clear winner was of course Farmer Tom’s gargantuan gourd (right) which was too heavy to lift at an estimated 65–85kg!

From the idea itself, to the distribution, growing and weighing of the beasts, creativity was found in abundance. From pollinating the flowers to tracking each fruit’s growth, the process gave each of us a unique experience of joy and intrigue. Some of us couldn’t help but pat or talk to each pumpkin as we passed by, while others made suggestions and observations on the fine science of giant pumpkin growing! The process was a testament to how a single activity at Wick Care Farm can bring about dozens of creative moments and emotions. 

Following our Winter Welcome event, congratulations goes to our closest guessers, Liz (who guessed 43kg for the 43.1kg orange pumpkin) and Steve (who guessed 46.9 kg for the 46.1kg yellow pumpkin).  We would of course like to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped make our ‘Winter Welcome’ event on Saturday 15th November such a success. Every cake sold and coffee served, song-sung and laughter shared wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of our wider community. Your efforts have meant the world to us, and all monies raised (a total of over £1700!) will go towards our new Quiet Room. With this in mind, and alongside both a Rural Grant from Wychavon, a fantastic fundraiser by the Mayfair Care Agency, and several other fundraising efforts, I’m pleased to announce that offsite work for the quiet room has commenced – with a target date of January 2026 for installation! 

The Quiet Room will be situated opposite the main building, and will be used year-round as an office space, meeting room, and quiet/confidential place for members of our community. Each little addition to the Wick Care Farm setup over the past decade has added greater depth, variation and quality to the services we can provide. Whether it’s the polytunnel, kitchen refurbishment or quiet room, each was the result of a creative idea followed by a collective effort.

Finally, I (Jack!) also wanted to share that in the new year I will be stepping back from my role as a staff member at Wick Care Farm. While I’ll still be supporting the organisation with animal care and events, I’ve decided that it is the right time for me to focus on a new chapter in my career. I’m incredibly grateful for my time here over the past 5 years. From farm-based skills in horticulture and animal care, to supporting adults and young people with their mental health, Wick Care Farm has provided me with continual opportunities to learn and develop as a professional. Beyond this, my time here has also helped me to grow as a person. The same benefits we aspire to provide our clients are mirrored in my experience – Wick Care Farm has helped me to build a greater sense of identity, courage and self-belief. 

With this in mind, if you’re considering giving some time to a worthwhile cause, I would highly recommend volunteering at Wick Care Farm, where there are opportunities to suit people of all experience, interest and availability in both client-facing, out-of-hours and remote capacities.

As the organisation looks to the new year, there will also be an exciting opportunity available for a new Client Support Worker with responsibility for Livestock Management to join the staff team. Learn more about this vacancy here.