Welcome to Westhill Farm Project!
Our vision is to renovate and transform the Westhill Farm, nestled in Oxfordshire's Shotover Woods, into a community-led Model Farm.
To us, environmental sustainability, food security and alternatives to industrial agriculture are all incredibly important, and the Westhill Farm Project comes on the tip of a wave of local and organic food movements both within Oxfordshire and at a national scale.
A Model Farm is one in which agricultural techniques, efficiency and building layouts are researched and demonstrated on the farm. Westhill Farm will draw on the practice and philosophy of permaculture. We aim to provide this via sustainable farming methods (e.g. agroforestry, rainwater harvesting), natural eco-building, sustainable life skills courses and apprenticeships, land-based learning and research, a local farmhouse kitchen and library, and seasonal community events. Other ideas, suggested by the community, have included scuplture trails, therapy retreats, firewood business, cattle grazing, seed banks and tree nurseries.
The Project will add value both to the environment and the local community. The whole process, from the initial ideas to the final unveiling of the Westhill Farm, will strive towards this. It will provide a space that not only revitalises and joins together communities surrounding Shotover, but helps to bridge nature and culture together.
This is already being achieved, with volunteers expressing very positive views of the potential of the Westhill Farm Project. It will provide:
"community cohesion"
"an opportunity for my children to learn and experience within a community space"
"the relationship between learning, arts and land"
"bridging this with other local initiatives"
To us, environmental sustainability, food security and alternatives to industrial agriculture are all incredibly important, and the Westhill Farm Project comes on the tip of a wave of local and organic food movements both within Oxfordshire and at a national scale.
A Model Farm is one in which agricultural techniques, efficiency and building layouts are researched and demonstrated on the farm. Westhill Farm will draw on the practice and philosophy of permaculture. We aim to provide this via sustainable farming methods (e.g. agroforestry, rainwater harvesting), natural eco-building, sustainable life skills courses and apprenticeships, land-based learning and research, a local farmhouse kitchen and library, and seasonal community events. Other ideas, suggested by the community, have included scuplture trails, therapy retreats, firewood business, cattle grazing, seed banks and tree nurseries.
The Project will add value both to the environment and the local community. The whole process, from the initial ideas to the final unveiling of the Westhill Farm, will strive towards this. It will provide a space that not only revitalises and joins together communities surrounding Shotover, but helps to bridge nature and culture together.
This is already being achieved, with volunteers expressing very positive views of the potential of the Westhill Farm Project. It will provide:
"community cohesion"
"an opportunity for my children to learn and experience within a community space"
"the relationship between learning, arts and land"
"bridging this with other local initiatives"