Visitors return hailed as "fantastic" by Salisbury community farm
They opened for the first time in over three months yesterday
Last updated 13th Apr 2021
The return of visitors to a farm in Laverstock yesterday (April 12th) has been described as "fantastic".
River Bourne Community Farm welcomed the public back as the next set of restrictions were lifted by the government.
The animals including alpacas, goats, rabbits and birds were out in force to put a smile on the faces of all those visiting.
River Bourne is a Community Interest Company which is free to visit, so the support of the community is vital in keeping them going.
They have also had to keep looking after the animals during the closure period, so staff and many volunteers have been continuing their job.
Education and Marketing Manager Saje Hancock told Greatest Hits Radio:
"It was fantastic, we've been fully booked and I think we're fully booked for the next few days which is great, everyone seemed really happy and I hope people are pleased that we have reopened and see we've made a few changes to make it nicer for people to see the animals so we're very happy.
Financially looking after all the animals here during lockdown was difficult for us because we had no income whatsoever but we've had some grants that we've been given and we have heavily relied on volunteers throughout this time as we only have a small team of staff, some of which have been furloughed.
Seeing the first people walk onto the farm was so sweet and everyone was quite excited and it's just lovely and I think the animals have probably missed having people around as well because when we're normally open they're used to having lots of people giving them lots of attention and as much as we have tried to do that it's not the same as having a constant stream of people making a fuss of them."
Visits to the farm have to be pre-booked so they can keep on top of numbers.
APPEAL FOR VOLUNTEERS
With the farm back open again but only a small group of staff members, they are asking for anyone with free time to come and volunteer on the farm.
Their helpers are crucial in making sure the animals are looked after and trips for school children are properly managed.
Saje added:
"If you are retired, or have some spare time, mainly on midweek mornings, we are in need of some more volunteer Farm Leaders! The next few months are when we have lots of school and community group visits booked and they want to come on visits around the farmyard (now we are allowed to do them again!). This is a lovely volunteering role of leading these tours for a couple of hours every now and then."
Anyone interested in signing up can do so by visiting the River Bourne Community Farm website.