About
Welcome to Muddy Adventures!
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Muddy Adventures is the culmination of a long-term dream. I am Esther Jewitt, owner of Muddy Adventures. I have taught in EYFS and KS1 since 2010, often using outdoor learning spaces, and 2 years ago I finally took the plunge to become a Forest School Leader. I grew up on the farm and we are now able to bring own children up around the farm. We have developed a few areas around the farm to enable us to deliver Forest and Farm school to an increasing number of children and families.
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Stay up to date by following on Facebook @muddyadventures or on Instagram @muddyadventuresfs
Ides Barn Farm
Our family run Organic Dairy Farm sits nestled in the beautiful South Downs National Park. Originally taken on as a 4 generation tenancy from The Goodwood Estate in 1936, it is now farmed by father and son team John and Harry Holt.
We milk our herd of 250 Holstein Friesian cows twice a day, every day and we carefully manage the land around the farm to ensure we have plenty of nutritious organic food to feed them all year round.
We also have a flock of 200 ewes. These are relatively new to the farm and are used to enhance the grass quality and growth. The sheep are almost entirely pasture fed and they live outside all year round, including during lambing.
We occasionally also keep a few pigs, rearing them for their meat and have a dozen chickens who keep us well fed with eggs.
The most recent addition to the farm business has been the introduction of a milk vending machine. This has been incredibly popular as we are able to provide fresh milk with no food miles and an incredibly low carbon ‘hoof’-print!
Since becoming an organic farm 7 years ago, we actively strived to farm alongside nature, encouraging more birds, bees and insects. We are very excited to report dung beetles have now returned to the farm! Our soils are really important to us, so we grow a rotation of crops that build fertility, store carbon and build humus which benefits the myriad of organisms that make our soils alive and help support healthy, nutritious plants to feed us and our animals.
Vision
At Muddy Adventures, our principal intention is to teach learners using the outdoor environment. We intend for learners to grow in confidence, self-esteem and independence through being successful in setting and achieving their own goals, often working collaboratively. We want learners to be provided with outdoor experiences that develop their physical fitness, mental/emotional health, social skills, resilience and motivation.
We also want our learners to learn to enjoy, understand and care for the natural environment and to use an inviting outdoor space to connect in a ‘hands on’ way. We want them to learn about the world they live in and how to protect it for the future.
