THE DUCHESS of Cornwall paid a visit to Jamie’s Farm in Monmouth, a project which she has been a patron of for four years, today, Wednesday.
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla are currently on a tour of Wales and, having visited pupils at Millbrook Primary School in Bettws in the morning, the duchess found the time to drop in at the farm.
Jamie’s Farm works with disadvantaged young people and children who are at risk of academic or social exclusion. The children will stay at one of the five residential farms across England and Wales and work on the farm and learn practical life skills.
During her visit, the duchess was given a tour of the farm by founder Jamie Feilden.
She met and spoke with staff and children who were preparing a fresh lunch for guests, and asked about their stay at the farm.
The food had been grown in the farm’s vegetable garden, and this was where the duchess headed next. There, she asked the children what they were planting.
She also met a group returning from chopping logs, and said “You’re the ones doing the hard work”, and remarked about the surprisingly warm temperature.
The duchess then stopped to see the farm’s therapy ponies and watched some of the children working with them.
She then headed to the cowshed, where she met with the fundraising team and the farmers.
“We’re really lucky and have amazing supporters,” head of fundraising Katie Francis told the duchess.
Her Royal Highness spoke with farm manager Dan Smith about regenerative farming, which she and Prince Charles are said to have a keen interest in.
“We’re aiming to have regenerative farming on all of the farm,” Mr Smith said after the visit.
“For example we do mob grazing with the cattle and sheep to promote land health and soil health.
“And we’ve got 2,500 metres of hedging.
“We work with the Woodland Trust and graze a lot of the land locally in the Wye Valley to improve the wild flower meadows.
“We have rare breeds here – Australian Lowline cattle, and sheep and pigs too. And we try to sell all our meat locally.
“The kids are doing all the farming work with us too.”
Before leaving, the duchess met with members of the charity Bees for Development, of which she is president.
She discussed their work, and was presented with a gift of honey from the Afram Plains and a beeswax candle by project manager Giacomo Ciriello, who had just returned from work in Ghana.
Nicola Bradbear, director of the charity, said: “She was super. She told us she’s a beekeeper and she harvests honey in their hives.
“She sells the honey in Fortnum & Mason and donates the money to us.
“It was lovely to have a few minutes with her.”
As she headed off, the duchess remarked: “I’ve had a very nice tour, a brilliant tour.
“They [the children] were very enthusiastic. Some have even come back again.”
“We’re extremely grateful to have the ongoing support of Her Royal Highness as our patron,” said Jamie’s Farm co-chief executive Jake Curtis.
“She’s visited all of our other farms, including our city farm in Waterloo. We’ve been trying to get her here for a while and she had a little time today and asked if she could visit.
“We were particularly pleased to see the interaction between Her Royal Highness and the children here.
“She was relaxed and welcoming and made them feel comfortable.
“It was a great opportunity for us to gather all of our supporters who have made Jamie’s Farm Monmouth such a success over the past five years.”
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