ORGANIC ARTS
This organization has already been registered
Someone in your organization has already registered and setup an account. Would you like to join their team?Profile owner : c*******e@o*********s.o*g.uk
Mission Statement
organicARTS: Learning with the land: involving you in creative farm based learning for a healthy future. We are an educational charity based on an organic farm on the outskirts of Exeter in Devon. We work through educational visits, a community garden, creative activities with natural materials, open days, walks, workshops, community projects, exhibitions and performances. We work with about 5000 people during a year.
About This Cause
organicARTS educational visits involve mainly primary schools, and also other educational institutions, community groups and individuals on work experience. They learn about food, farming and the environment with hands on and creative activities. Our community garden is staffed by a group of volunteers with qualified and experienced supervisors. The volunteers are mainly people who live with disadvantages, these may be mental ill-health; learning difficulties; head injuries; physical disability; social isolation; homelessness, and recovery from addiction and often they have multiple problems and are far from employment. We emphasise the positive benefits they gain form working to maintain and improve the garden which includes increased self-confidence; self-esteem; social skills, and transferable skills. These all lead to improved physical, mental and social health and well-being through activities which involve the outdoors, creativity and food which are all well-documented as affective in this field. We use natural materials from the farm for regular and one-off creative workshops and they are also included in educational and gardening activities. The natural materials include clay; willow (for weaving, sculpture and making charcoal); natural dyes; wool; wood; earth pigments, and hedgerow materials. We participate in Devon Open Studios each year so that artists who have worked at and been inspired by the farm can exhibit their work. We have several public seasonal open days and walks during the year which are open to the public and are run jointly with the farm. We like to encourage adults and children to visit and walk on the farm and learn about where their food comes; how farming can work with and alongside the environment and the activities we can offer.