Bringing Together Art and Nature

The ArtShop Project at Caring For Life provides opportunities for people to try their hand at lots of different skills, in a supportive environment. Last year, one of our volunteers suggested doing a project based on mosaics, so we started some practise pieces, using donated coasters and placemats as backgrounds. 

Some beautiful items have been produced, and it was lovely to see a number of people really enjoy this activity - finding the repetitive way of working both therapeutic and soothing. This year we plan to extend this project and also work together with the Conservation project here at Caring For Life,  seeking to create some mosaics that will be placed in the gardens at Crag House Farm! This is an exciting venture and a new challenge for us all, bringing art and nature together in a slightly different way. 

Then, although Spring is still quite a way off, one of the gentlemen on the ArtShop Project is very keen that we start looking at a “Springwatch” display in the Centre at the farm. He has lots of ideas, which are under wraps for now, but which will all be on view in due course! 

#art #design #mosaic #spring #nature #conservation

At Home

It was wonderful to see so many people feeling really “at home” at Caring For Life over Christmas, whether it was in our supported homes or in the Centre at Crag House Farm on Christmas Day. It was a joy to be able to offer some people a home shortly before Christmas, and to see people safely rehoused.

On our conservation project at Crag House Farm there was something of a “housing crisis” at Christmas when the roof  blew off a well-used barn owl box. It was quickly repaired and  returned to its site. Another conservation  task undertaken at this time of the year is the cleaning out of nest boxes, in time for birds pairing up and nesting. It is really encouraging to be able to provide them with a safe home on site.

Our Being There housing support team work hard to seek to help people find a safe home and to settle in, so that they really do feel “at home”.

Finding suitable housing for people in crisis can be extremely difficult due to the shortage of suitable, affordable housing. Our Being There housing support team work hard to seek to help people find a safe home and to settle in, so that they really do feel “at home”. Providing ongoing support is crucial, as helping someone to feel at home involves a great deal more than ensuring they have a roof over their head. 

#CFL #CaringForLife #CragHouseFarm #Birds #BarnOwls #Conservation

Feeding the Birds

In different areas of Crag House Farm, bird feeding stations have been installed to enable us to feed the birds regularly. This task becomes especially important as the weather worsens and the hours of daylight shorten. 

We are thrilled to have sizeable colonies of tree sparrows here at Crag House Farm, the home of Caring For Life. Tree sparrows are still on the Red List for Birds of Conservation Concern and we are encouraged by how well they are flourishing in the environment here, due to nesting sites, nest boxes and habitat creation, as well as regular feeding of a suitable birdseed. 

The feeding stations are frequented by lots of other birds as well, and seeing birds feeding quietly is something that visitors to the site can enjoy, as well as those on therapeutic projects at Caring For Life, who help to top up the feeders.

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#CragHouseFarm #CaringForLife #CFL #BirdFeeding #Conservation #FeedtheBirds