Planning a green future on the farm

Whether planting and growing crops, or caring for animals, "green" is the buzzword for staff and the young people who help in the day-to-day-management of the Girlington site.

Many initiatives are already in place, yet countless more are planned at the farm - run by PRISM, formerly known as Bradford Police Club for Young People.

The organisation gives some of the most disengaged young people in the district the chance to be involved in creative, innovative projects.

At the farm, youngsters aged between 12 and 21, such as Jordan Bottomley and Siobhan Holland, pictured, are learning about environmentally-friendly farming and gardening - and they are not frightened to muck in and get their hands dirty.

Jordan Bottomley is proud of the compost bins he helped to make.

"I cut the sides and top, then hammered the posts in the ground," he says. "I really liked making it." The 14-year-old's contribution goes further than the construction of the five sturdy wooden bins: "I used to live on a farm so I know how to make good compost."

Standing alongside him, Siobhan Holland, 15, had a role in the bin's creation too. "I helped to cut the wood for the sides, and paint it. It was hard work but I enjoyed it."

The youngsters were among a group who made the sturdy bins at Bradford's PRISM City Farm Project, a community environmental education project providing vocational experience for young people.

In keeping with the farm's eco-friendly working practices, timber for the bins was sustainably sourced and the resulting compost - made with garden waste and animal manure - is mixed with peat substitute from the UK's leading organic growing charity the Henry Doubleday Research Association, now known as Garden Organic.

Coir - the protective fibrous layer surrounding the hard shell on coconuts - is also used as an alternative to peat. "If we are making a compost for seeds we would mix that with soil, sand and seaweed extract to bring in trace elements," says the farm's environmental youth worker Nina McCormack.

Fallen leaves are raked up and stored in special bins to rot down and turn into leaf mould - a rich, crumbly mixture that can be used as a mulch around the base of plants and, if left longer, as a soil conditioner.

For staff and youngsters at the farm, these green practices are only the start - they have exciting plans for the future.

The project - which takes referrals from secondary schools across the district - brings new, stimulating opportunities to young people who have been excluded from school, are on the brink of being excluded, and are possibly at risk of offending. Youngsters attend for varying periods of time, some one or two days a week, others full-time. Each day around 25 young people help at the farm.

Many varieties of fruit and vegetables are grown at the farm, both outside and in a spacious polytunnel. These include potatoes, cabbages, peppers, aubergines, melons and tomatoes. Other plants and spices used in cooking, such as fenugreek, tamarinds, tumeric and root ginger are also grown.

"We have a large area devoted to horticulture," says farm manager Jon Turner. This is being redeveloped thanks to funding from Bradford Vision's Clean Green initiative.

"We are planning to divide the plots so that one or two young people can develop their own areas."

Says Nina: "We already have a good expanse of hedge running around the boundary and we are planting more to create a thriving wildlife corridor. These will be bare-rooted native species such as field maple, hawthorn and blackthorn, as well as other wildlife-friendly climbers and shrubs like honeysuckle, buddleia and berberis. Organic gardening methods are used to encourage natural predators."

This year the youngsters will be involved in creating a display garden at the farm, to demonstrate crop rotation.

"We are in the process of setting up a system to be greener," says Jon. "We are encouraging the young people to get involved in recycling and waste disposal.

One of the more ambitious plans under investigation is to make use of animal waste from the farm's cows, ponies, sheep and goats, to provide power.

"We have a lot of animal waste and are looking at a process of how methane made from dung could be linked to a generator that could heat our polytunnel in winter," says Jon. "This will be a trial project and if it is successful it could extend to other areas."

Adds Nina: "We are very excited about this. Different kinds of manure can be put in sealed containers, releasing gases which will run into a pipe to create power. And whatever is left over will be used as a fertiliser. At the moment we will have a lot more than we need."

A further step forward, would be the use of wind power, through a wind turbine. "While we would not be able to rely on it for all out electricity, we could power our new building. We would look at either three small turbines or one larger one."

At present the running of the farm - which has staff working full and part-time - is co-ordinated from temporary buildings while a permanent base is constructed using cash from the YOP (Youth Offender Panel) and Youth Capital fund.

Other eco-friendly practices already in use include the collection of water in a butt and the shredding of paper used in the farm office for reuse as bedding for animals.

The youngsters are keen to go green. Chris Wilson, 17, talks animatedly about compost and has taken qualification in horticulture at Shipley College, Jodie Coates, 15, loved planting garlic and herbs, Blake Turner, 14, is keen to recycle, as is Danny Dooley, 17, who is lending a hand with the bricklaying for the new building.

Nina is hoping to hold lessons about ecosystems. "The young people are really enthusiastic, they really enjoy what they are doing and are keen to learn more."

Says Jon: "As a farm, using environmentally-friendly practices is really important to us. Although our priority is the young people we aim to be as green as we can possibly be."

Adds Nina: "We are working towards a sustainable city farm.