Diagrama Foundation’s Duckyls Farm near East Grinstead is a finalist for a BBC Make a Difference Award in the Environment category, to recognise its remarkable transformation into a thriving, inclusive space where adults with a learning disability are helping to care for and shape the land.
In just over a year, Duckyls Farm has been transformed from a neglected and unsafe site into a vibrant environment where people can learn, develop practical skills and enjoy the benefits of nature and working with animals.
When Diagrama Community Services took on the 100-acre farm, it had been unmanaged for decades. Blocked ditches were causing flooding, fences were broken, buildings were run down and the site was littered with old tyres, waste and unused equipment. Woodland areas had become unsafe because of unmanaged trees and ash dieback, making the farm unsuitable for people to safely learn, work and enjoy the outdoors.
Today, Duckyls Farm is a very different place.
Ditches have been cleared, safe pathways created and buildings renovated into welcoming, practical spaces. A former barn has been transformed into a working classroom with a kitchen, providing opportunities to learn practical life skills.
The farm is also now home to alpacas, horses, goats, chickens and rabbits, with the people attending the service actively involved in their daily care.
People are also helping to grow vegetables, plant trees, maintain the land and contribute to the running and development of the farm. Importantly, the vision for Duckyls Farm is being shaped alongside the people it supports, with individuals having a say in what is grown, which animals they care for and how the farm develops.
Traditional land management practices are also being incorporated into the long-term plans for the farm, helping to create a sustainable environment that benefits both people and nature.
The winner will be announced at the BBC Make a Difference Awards ceremony on 22 September at The Chequer Mead Theatre in East Grinstead.
David McGuire, CEO of Diagrama Foundation, said: “We are incredibly proud of the Duckyls Farm team and delighted that their work has been recognised. They have achieved an extraordinary transformation, turning a neglected and unsafe site into a place where people can learn, develop skills, care for animals and take real pride in their surroundings.
“What makes Duckyls particularly special is that the people we support are not simply visitors to the farm they are actively involved in shaping its future. This recognition is a wonderful acknowledgement of their contribution, as well as the dedication and hard work of the whole team. We wish everyone involved the very best of luck at the awards.”
For more information about Community Services at Duckyls Farm please visit: www.diagramacommunity.org.uk
If you’d like to support the work at Duckyls Farm, you can help by purchasing an item from their Amazon Wishlist: https://linktr.ee/diagramaamazonwishlist. Every contribution, big or small, helps enhance their daily lives.
About the BBC make a Difference Awards
The BBC Make a Difference Awards celebrate people and organisations making a positive difference in their communities.
About Diagrama Community Services at Duckyls Farm
Diagrama Community Services, which operates at Duckyls Farm, is for people with a learning disability, physical and sensory impairment, acquired brain injury and/or autism.
The Community Services provide a choice of meaningful, enjoyable occupational opportunities and activities, supporting people to develop skills that, promote independence, transfer to employment and be used in their daily lives.
The life skills activities include looking after farm animals, growing vegetables, fruit and flowers, making bird boxes and hedgehog houses, repairing and maintaining fences, cooking, painting, drawing, online safety and managing money.
About Diagrama Foundation
Diagrama Foundation is a Kent based charity that supports vulnerable children, young people, and adults to live their best life.
Diagrama has a Supported Living Service across Bromley and Mid Sussex, three homes for adults with learning disabilities in Orpington, an eight-bed care home for adults with learning disabilities in West Sussex with a Community Services Programme a fifty-bed care home for the elderly with nursing and dementia needs in Essex, and a fostering and adoption service in the southeast. Plus, a 100 acre property offering farm and craft day Services cross West Sussex.
- The Supported Living Service, cares for 33 adults with learning disabilities, in seven schemes across Bromley and one scheme in Mid Sussex, helping them to develop skills and confidence to live in their own house either on their own or with others.
- At Cabrini House in Orpington the charity promotes the development of core skills for 23 adults with learning disabilities so that they can lead independent lives integrated within their community.
- Diagrama Care Home at Duckyls Farm, is a residential care home in West Sussex on a 100-acre farm for residents with learning disabilities, which allows the charity to explore the physical, mental and social skills and benefits that working with animals and in nature can offer to people with a learning disability.
- Diagrama Community Services at Duckyls Farm is a day care provision for people with a learning disability, physical and sensory impairment, acquired brain injury and/or autism.
- The team at their nursing and dementia care home, Edensor Care Centre in Clacton on Sea, support vulnerable residents to live life to the full.
- Diagrama’s voluntary adoption agency and not-for-profit fostering service cares for children who wait the longest for homes in London, Kent, Sussex and Surrey.
Many vulnerable children and adults don’t get the support they need to develop their true potential, but the Diagrama team know that when someone has time and belief invested in them, they come alive, because that investment has made them feel valued and worthy.
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