England’s first Community-Owned Farm’s River-Friendly Farming Project Approved for Crowd-Funding

Fordhall Organic Farm in Shropshire, England’s first community-owned farm, has had their ‘River-Friendly Farming’ project approved to be a part of Spacehive/Crowdfund Shropshire. Should their project receive enough backers, they will have access to the match-funding pot, enabling them to create and construct a bespoke bird hide beside anon-site wildlife pond.

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Fordhall’s newest campaign aims to improve the health of their on-site water-courses – slowing the flow, creating cow bathing pools, encouraging biodiversity and improving water quality. The initial response to their appeal has received a wonderful response from their community – fully reaching their initial donation target of £15,000!

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With this in mind, they have decided to take this project even further – developing and expanding the planned work around the ponds for improved public access. The team aim to create a bird hide by one of their wildlife ponds, with Youth Project (an on-site project helping young people struggling in mainstream education) attendees assisting with the development and construction, thereby building their skills, confidence and appreciation of nature.

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As a not-for-profit organisation, this phase of their project has been offered the opportunity to raise funds through Spacehive, who will match-fund any donations if the backer threshold is reached.

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Charlotte Hollins, Fordhall Community Land Initiative general manager, said:

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“We are so grateful to everyone who has donated to our initial funding drive, to create a healthier and cleaner future, for the water-courses we have here at Fordhall. This project aims to benefit our livestock, biodiversity and community.

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“We are really excited to have the opportunity to expand this project, with plans to involve the Youth Project and volunteers with the construction of a second bird hide on-site – the first resides in our woodland. It’s wonderful to have been considered for this additional funding pot funding pot and with how great the response has been so far, we are hopeful we will reach the requirement for match-funding!

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“Of course, we know not everyone is able to provide monetary donations – we are so grateful to anyone who would like to donate their time as a volunteer, or help us spread the word by sharing our project!”

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To find out more, and to support this project, please visit: www.spacehive.com/fordhallriverfriendly

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