Educational smallholding near Helston offering free school visits: how to book

Emma Ferguson
·3-min read
Rustikated near Helston is offering free sessions for schools <i>(Image: Rustikated)</i>
Rustikated near Helston is offering free sessions for schools (Image: Rustikated)

Schools in Cornwall are being invited to book a free two-hour session to learn more about local farming, conservation and food production at Rustikated – a rural business based near Helston that launched last year.

The project saw Kate Biddick leave her teaching career to set up a business that combined all of her passions: working with children, local wildlife conservation and animal care.

For the past 17 months Kate has welcomed youngsters, who would otherwise struggle to manage a full week in mainstream education, to her family-run smallholding.

Every day, different children arrive to learn how to care for the pets and small farm animals, and how to carefully manage and play in the four-acre site.

Lambing season helpers (Image: Rustikated)

Now the Rural Payments Agency is funding a limited number of places for schools to take part in sessions for a new farming, conservation and production tour at Rustikated smallholding near Helston.

Thanks to careful management being at the forefront of all that happens at Rustikated, Kate said she was delighted to be successful in a recent application to Defra’s Countryside Stewardship Scheme.

Kate told the Packet: “From September 2024, Rustikated will be using Defra’s Educational Access Grant to offer groups of school children free visits to the smallholding so that they can learn about local farming, conservation and food production.

“The free tour will take place here on the smallholding and will also highlight the use of the neighbouring, working farmland that supports local farming businesses such as Cornwall’s beef and dairy industries.”

Pond dipping and learning about wildlife (Image: Rustikated)

During the tour children will learn the value of increasing biodiversity and how to make sensitive habitat improvements, as well as understanding the beneficial impact of trees and tree planting.

Kate hopes youngsters will get to witness the rich flora and fauna first hand and will begin to understand how small changes can make a big difference.

Checking the Rustikated sheep (Image: Rustikated)

Schools are encouraged to book their free farming and wildlife tour at Rustikated quickly, as funding only allows for a limited number of schools. Booking is now open ready for September and onwards.

Parents are encouraged to make sure their child’s school is aware of the offer so that the school can make a booking. Details can be found at the bottom of the article.

One of Rustikated's low maintenance meadows (Image: Rustikated)

Kate explained that she has long since considered herself to be the custodian, not the owner, of the space she calls home, and with her own children having grown up “it felt important to offer other youngsters the same outdoor experiences and privileged interactions with nature that my children had. This space feels right with children learning, playing and relaxing in it.”

As well as offering grazing to a flock of sheep, the ponies, horse, chickens and ducks, the ground at Rustikated also has species-rich hedgerows, small wooded spaces, wildlife ponds, marshy areas and a vast array of wildflowers.

It already offers specialist provision for children aged eight to 18 who, for various reasons, struggle to attend mainstream school full-time.

(Image: Rustikated)

“The complexity of the children who use Rustikated varies. Some have been suspended from school, others can’t attend school because of barriers unique to them; many have additional needs or difficult life circumstances,” said Kate.

“For all, managing a full week in a busy mainstream school isn’t possible so they come to Rustikated and learn here with me and the animals for a while.”

For all Rustikated enquiries, including about specialist use of the site or to book a free farming, conservation and food production tour for schools, contact Kate Biddick by emailing rustikatedcornwall@gmail.com

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories

  • Washed-up giant shark removed from beach by forklift

    The body of a giant basking shark which washed up on Scottish beach has been removed by a forklift.

  • A ‘potentially historic’ heat wave intensifies along the West Coast, with no relief expected for days

    An extremely dangerous, unusually long heat wave is intensifying and spreading up the West Coast – and there will be no relief for days.

  • Mapped: Hurricane Beryl makes landfall in Mexico as Category 2 storm

    Hurricane Beryl could make a ‘rare’ double strike in Mexico and potentially impact southeastern United States

  • River Swallows Famous Jamaican Bridge in Wake of Hurricane Beryl

    A historic Jamaican landmark, the Flat Bridge, was swallowed by the swollen Rio Cobre in the wake of Hurricane Beryl on Wednesday, July 3.Video from a See Jamaica camera shows the centuries-old bridge in St Catherine parish before and after it was submerged.An evacuation order was in effect on Wednesday for areas prone to floods or landslides, or near sea level, gullies, or waterways, Jamaica

  • Fiery Footage Shows Lava Spewing From Crater at Mount Etna

    Intense Strombolian activity made for fiery footage at Mount Etna, as lava spewed from the Voragine crater on July 3.Footage posted by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) shows the “spectacular images”.Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, and is in an almost constant state of activity, according to the European Space Agency. Credit: INGV Vulcani via Storyful

  • Debris Removed From Historic Jamaican Bridge Submerged in Wake of Hurricane

    A cleanup was underway on Thursday, July 4, at a historic Jamaican bridge that was swallowed by the swollen Rio Cobre in the wake of Hurricane Beryl.Video from a See Jamaica camera shows the centuries-old Flat Bridge in St Catherine parish being cleared of accumulated debris.An evacuation order was in effect on Wednesday for areas prone to floods or landslides, or near sea level, gullies, or waterways, Jamaica

  • Mount Etna and Stromboli eruptions: Is it safe to travel to Sicily and are flights cancelled?

    Warnings are in place as both Etna and Stromboli volcanoes have become dangerously active.

  • Weather tracker: Hurricane Beryl causes devastation across Caribbean

    Beryl is earliest category 5 Atlantic hurricane in about 100 years of record keeping

  • Analysis-China, struggling to make use of a boom in energy storage, calls for even more

    BEIJING (Reuters) -Rows of what look like thin, white shipping containers are lined up on a barren dirt field in China's Shandong province. Filled with batteries, they form a 795 megawatt (MW) plant that can hold up to 1 million kilowatt-hours of electricity - enough to power 150,000 households for a day, making it China's largest such storage facility when it was connected to the grid last Saturday. Built by Lijin County Jinhui New Energy Co, the project is part of an explosion in development of energy storage in China, which has called for even more investment in the sector to boost renewable electricity and ease grid bottlenecks.

  • Storm Surge in Grand Cayman as Hurricane Beryl Passes

    Multiple weather warnings were in place for the Cayman Islands on July 4, as Hurricane Beryl passed to the south, bringing heavy rain, winds gusting over 70 mph and “extremely rough seas”, the local weather service said.“Widespread thunderstorms” were forecast across the islands, with “significant swells” and rough seas expected through to Friday.This footage was captured by local resident Gannon Rutty and it shows large waves hitting a pier on the East End of Grand Cayman.Deputy Governor Eric Bush said Grand Cayman had experienced “the worst of it” early on Thursday morning, and urged residents to shelter indoors until an all-clear was given. Credit: Gannon Rutty via Storyful

  • See what it looks like in Jamaica as Hurricane Beryl batters the country

    CNN’s Rafael Romo reports from Kingston, Jamaica, where Hurricane Beryl is bringing a devastating combination of storm surge and strong winds.

  • 21 minutes to evacuate: Experts predict Mediterranean tsunami with 100% probability

    Only seven tsunamis have hit Spain since 365 AD, but experts warn the big one is on its way in the next 30 years.

  • Millions swelter under dangerous Fourth of July heat wave

    Around 134 million people in the U.S. are under alerts as an “extremely dangerous and record-breaking” heat wave broils much of the country, according to the National Weather Service. Regions that may see temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) or much higher into the triple digits (well above 37 degrees Celsius) include nearly all of the West Coast, the southern Plains, most of the lower Mississippi Valley into the Ohio Valley and parts of Florida, said Bob Oravec, a lead forecaster with the National Weather Service. “If it’s both humid and hot, you can’t really rely on sweat to cool you down to a safe level,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California, Los Angeles.

  • Dead fish in river not due to pollution incident, says environmental agency

    An environmental agency has confirmed that reports of dead fish in a river in Cwmbran are not due to pollution.

  • Shark attacks reported at Texas' South Padre Island; 2 people bitten, at least 1 severely

    Police were called for the attack on the man who was severely bitten around 11 a.m., according to Nikki Soto, the South Padre Island city secretary. The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department said later in a statement that two people were bitten and two more “encountered” the shark but were not seriously hurt. Beach patrol, firefighters and police were patrolling the shore and flying drones after the attacks, Soto said.

  • Miliband takes up the mantle of delivering UK’s climate-tackling mission – again

    Labour will need to take action to boost renewables and restore UK’s leadership role in global climate action.

  • Why Japanese Knotweed is a problem and what to do if you find some

    Japanese Knotweed is an invasive plant that can cause havoc on our homes and gardens. Here's how to get rid of it.

  • Adorable trio of toucan chicks born at Newquay Zoo

    Keepers at Newquay Zoo in Cornwall are celebrating the arrival of three green araçari toucan chicks, one of the smallest members of the toucan family. It is the first time that the species has bred on site in Newquay Zoo's 55-year history. The female, who is 12-years-old, has been at Newquay since 2017, while the young male arrived from Cotswolds Wildlife Park in February this year. The literal lovebirds instantly hit it off, and after a period of courtship, the chicks hatched in late May. All t

  • The secret plight of seagulls – and why we should learn to love them

    A great annual conflict is underway. Each summer, as hordes of holidaymakers descend on beaches and seaside towns across the country, humans and seagulls come face to face in a chip-based standoff. ‘Giant swarms’ of gulls apparently attack beachgoers, traumatise children – and fill the tabloids. Gulls are even being blamed for postal delays: last month, Royal Mail claimed that aggressive birds had prevented postmen from making deliveries in Liskeard, Cornwall.

  • Tiptree's Wilkin and Sons announces it is set to close tea room site in Essex

    The company said the site was not performing as well as its other tea rooms.