Patron: HRH The Prince of Wales

Message from HRH The Prince of Wales, patron of the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens, to mark the Federation's 30th anniversary in 2010.

I could not be more pleased to offer my warmest congratulations to the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens on its 30th anniversary.  Over three decades this remarkable organisation, of which I have been delighted to be Patron since 2001, has pioneered some of the most innovative and important initiatives to reconnect people of all ages and from all backgrounds to the land and to how their food is grown.  

In towns and cities across the United Kingdom, members of the Federation have worked to bring, quite literally, a breath of fresh air to numerous local communities.  I have been fortunate to visit a number of these very special places and seen for myself the impact they can have, helping regenerate often deprived communities by acting as an educational resource and providing employment opportunities.  They also give to those who, through no fault of their own have limited possibilities to enjoy the wonder of Nature, the chance to experience the delights of growing their own food and of working with farm animals.  The importance of this work cannot be over-estimated.  How, for instance, can we expect people to make healthy choices about the food they eat when so many have little or no knowledge of how it is produced?

With food growing in mind, I am pleased that the Federation’s work with the Allotments Regeneration Initiative continues to thrive, while its research work into creating a Community Land Bank could help many more people find a space to grow their own food.

I particularly want to congratulate the work of the Federation on its crucial leadership of the School Farms Network and its work with the Growing Schools Initiative.  Over the last twelve years, I have done all I can to support school farms, which I believe are of the utmost importance.  Whether they be at the most sophisticated end of the scale with cattle, sheep and pigs or take the form of some raised vegetable beds in the playground, they can make a huge difference to the students, especially to those that find academic studies more of a struggle. In this unique outdoor classroom they learn practical skills and also tend to respond extremely positively to working with farm animals.  The great thing is that every child can be a success at something and this gives an enormous sense of self-confidence and self-worth.   

I am also delighted that the Federation is a partner in the pioneering National Care Farms Initiative which is encouraging and supporting the therapeutic use of farming to help particularly vulnerable groups of people.

I know that none of the work done by members of the Federation would be possible without the help and support of a veritable army of volunteers and to each and every one of them I want to offer my most heartfelt thanks.  Their help is bringing the most enormous happiness to countless thousands of people who enjoy City Farms, school farms, community gardens and allotments, and they are owed a real debt of gratitude. I’m glad that the work and experiences of these dedicated people who have helped develop community farms and gardens over the years will now be recorded for posterity, thanks to the Federation’s new oral history project. These lessons from the past will no doubt help shape the Federation’s future.

It has been a great source of pleasure to me to watch the Federation become a real force for good in recent years, not least in the development of national policy. I hope and pray that this will continue for the next thirty years because there is no doubt in my mind that its work is only going to grow in importance. I wish it every possible success in the great endeavours ahead.