Educational Access pack
Introduction
The Old Nurseries is a 4.51ha small-holding to the north of Wragby near
West
Torrington
, owned by
the Davey family, who are trying to preserve the wildlife, landscape and
historic nature of The Old Nurseries by undertaking restoration work and
maintaining the old meadow and hedges. They
would also like to continue to encourage educational school visits to the site.
Visits can take place at any time of year, but times of particular interest
might be:-
Blossom time in the orchard (early April)
Lambing time (varies – check first!)
Meadow flowers (May-June)
Sheep shearing (June)
Hay Making (Late July)
Apple Harvest (September/October)
Orchard Restoration and Hedge laying (Winter months)
There is a herd of goats kept for milk which normally have kids in the
spring. Children can try their hand
at milking and feeding the goats.
The Countryside Stewardship Scheme is a ten year programme of restoration and
maintenance work which gives some grant-aid to help with costs.
The small-holding is managed organically with no chemical fertilisers or
pesticides and the produce is used by the family.
Background
The small-holding was originally a ‘ten-acre’ ridge and furrow grass
field, but in the 1890s it was bought by the Rowson Family who planted fruit
trees and built greenhouses to turn it into a commercial nursery enterprise.
Part of the grassland was ploughed up as a vegetable garden before being
re-grassed in the 1960s. All of
these features are to be seen today forming a most interesting and attractive
mosaic of historic orchard, species rich grassland and scrub.
The boundaries are formed by mature hedges, the south side being the
parish boundary, the west the old county boundary between East and West Lindsey.
The Davey family purchased the Old Nurseries in 1980 and have since managed the
site as an organic smallholding. Hay
is taken from the grassland with some sheep grazing, and fruit harvested for
eating, cooking and cider making.
Some
Things to Remember
Health and Safety
Like all farms there are hazards which teachers need to be aware of, and where
appropriate to make sure the children understand.
Visitors should keep to the paths and areas where they are told to go and not
touch machinery and equipment without permission.
Also keep away from animals unless told that they may touch them.
(Care must be taken to tell any
pregnant women of the possible risks of coming into contact with newly born
lambs/kids or ewes/goats which have recently given birth).
Clothing and footwear
Please bring appropriate clothing and footwear for the season and
conditions. Phone to check on ground
conditions before setting out.
General
Activities
The site lends itself to all sorts of outdoor activities covering a wide
area of the curriculum.
General Field Study Skills
Observation, recording by writing, drawing, photography, mapping,
sketching, and species identification of plants and animals are all activities
which the Old Nurseries is suited for, particularly the meadow and orchard
areas.
Walks and Trail
The starting point for a visit might well be a walk around the site to
get a feel for what it consists of and to spark off interest for more detailed
work. Children could be given
activities to do during the walk such as collecting small items, identification
of trees, birds etc.
About Us
Ivor Davey teaches Design and Technology at Carre’s Grammar School,
Sleaford, and at St. Bernard’s
Special
School
in Louth,
and works with young offenders in residential care.
He has taught at a number of schools in Lincolnshire.
Pamela Davey has taught at Primary and Secondary level and has worked as an
ancillary at
Legsby
School
.
They both worked for a number of years in
Malawi
and
Peru
before
moving back to
Lincolnshire
.
They have six children.
There have already been a number of visits to the smallholding by St.
Bernard’s School children from Key Stages 2, 3, & 4 and from the post 16
group. Activities have included
looking at young animals, feeding lambs etc., a sheep shearing day, collecting
and juicing apples, and tree planting in the orchard.
There have also been visits by
King
Edward
VI
School
pupils, De
Aston School, and boys from Acacia Hall and other care homes.
The Daveys have solar and wind generating equipment which supplies much of the
household electricity and have a bale-burning biomass central heating system.
They run an electric vehicle for local journeys.
About the Site Facilities
We can accommodate groups of normal class size (say 30) though for some
activities smaller groups would be better. There
are toilet and washing facilities on site, and in bad weather shelter can be
provided for picnics or teaching.
Due to Ivor’s part-time teaching, some days or parts of days would be more
suitable for visits than others, depending on what is planned.
This can be arranged when booking.
There is no charge for visits.
(Page last updated) 24 June 2004