Field Notes: Southampton City Farm and the Award

Emily Button, our Award Officer in England, reports on some inspiring conservation work achieved by John Muir Award recipients in Southampton.

To achieve a John Muir Award, participants must complete four challenges: Discover, Explore, Conserve and Share their experiences of their chosen wild place. Through the Award’s Conserve Challenge, participants do something to make a positive difference for wild places.

As someone who spends time listening to and reading about John Muir Award experiences, I love hearing about the incredible and inspiring actions undertaken by Award participants.

Since the beginning of 2022, Award participants across the UK have collectively completed 53,000 hours of conservation activity. This ranges from practical actions such as creating wildlife habitats and planting trees, campaigning and advocating for wild places, through to learning the importance of leaving no trace and being educated about the benefits of making more sustainable choices.

The dedication of Award participants offers numerous benefits to wild places from the north of Scotland to the south of England, to the west coast of Wales and across the water to Northern Ireland (and everywhere in between!). One example I would like to highlight comes from a group of adults who attend Southampton City Farm; who have enjoyed completing their John Muir Award and would like to share their experiences.

Southampton City Farm offer a programme of activities for people with mild to moderate learning disabilities. It aims to create a supportive environment that encourages greater independence, promotes social inclusion and enhances employability.

Attendees are respected, valued and given the opportunity to gain new life skills and participate in real work opportunities. According to Southampton City Farm’s impact report, within the area that attendees reside, disabled people are 28.6 per cent less likely to be in employment than non-disabled people in the city.

Organisations like Southampton City Farm who provide opportunities for self-development and the ability to participate in real work are of fundamental importance.

Southampton City Farm has recently started using the John Muir Award as a means of providing structure to its sessions, while offering participants recognition for their hard work.

Receiving a certificate not only boosts self-esteem and provides a sense of accomplishment, but also offers potential future employers confirmation of their participation in a recognised Award scheme.

Four individuals have just completed their Awards and have enhanced their wild place by collecting three bin bags of litter, planting six trees, building six bird boxes and constructing one bug hotel. Actions such as these help to boost biodiversity and contribute to the significant conservation achievements being made by John Muir Award participants throughout the UK.

The leader of the group, Tom Kitcher, reflected on a highlight of their Award experience: “One of our John Muir [Award] participants always loved litter picking around our farm, but due to the Covid lockdown missed out on this. The John Muir [Award] has given him a reason to love litter picking again with a purpose. We have then reused some of this litter to make a big bug hotel.”

I have loved helping make the bug hotel, it’s going to make the wildlife so happy

Award Participant

Find out more

• Find out more about the John Muir Award.
• To support the John Muir Award and inspire more people to connect with and care for wild nature please donate to our Wild Action Fund.