Aldingbourne Trust

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  • Home
  • Great Day Out
    • ACC Attractions
    • Quarry Cafe
    • Open Farm
    • Events
    • Ticket Prices & Opening Times
    • Annual Memberships
    • Camping
    • Children's Birthday Party
    • FAQ's
    • Find Us
  • Support Services
    • Supported Employment
    • Support Workers Direct
    • Training & Learning
    • Advice & Guidance
    • Gr8 Support
    • Housing >
      • Referral Process
      • Vacancies
    • Support in the Community >
      • Creative Arts Studio
      • LOL - Living Out Loud
    • Care Quality Commission Ratings
    • Safeguarding
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Our People
    • Jobs >
      • Current Vacancies
      • Employee Benefits
      • What our Staff Say
    • Volunteering >
      • Meet Our Volunteers
      • Become a Volunteer
      • FAQ's
    • Accounts & Annual Review
    • Campaigns we're fighting for
    • Aldingbourne Trust National Partnership
    • Covid 19 >
      • ​Aldingbourne's Scavenger Hunt
      • Aldingbourne Country Centre
      • MAKE & Gig Buddies
      • No 73 Drop In
      • Supported Living
      • Top Tips
      • Thank You
      • Volunteers
    • Find Us
  • Our Businesses
    • Venue/ Room Hire
    • Long Bench
    • Tree Seat Scheme
    • Gig Buddies Portsmouth >
      • Gig Buddies Application
      • Gig Buddies FAQs
    • Plants@Aldingbourne
    • Wood@Aldingbourne
    • Educational Visits
    • Make
    • Seasons Nursery School
    • Other projects
  • News
    • Aldingbourne Blog
  • Fundraising
    • Donate
    • Fundraising Events
    • Start Fundraising
    • Support a Fundraiser
    • Aldingbourne Lottery
    • Adopt an Animal
    • Join the Friends of AT
  • Online Shop
    • Annual Memberships Product
    • Long Bench Slat
    • Tree Seat Scheme
    • Miscellaneous Services

Aldingbourne Blog

There are many social enterprises across the Aldingboune Trust, so we have set up this blog to tell you more
about what we do.  Our staff, volunteers and the people we support are always up to something, and we
​want to share their experiences with you.  

Our Open Farm

26/3/2020

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The Aldingbourne Trust is a local charity that supports people with learning disabilities and/or autism to have the same opportunities as everyone else to live independent lives.  At the Aldingbourne Country Centre one of our key enterprises is the Open Farm. The people we support are a much valued part of our team. They play a key role In keeping our animals happy and healthy as well as helping us to maintain high welfare standards.  
 
From the moment they arrive in the morning they are ready to get stuck in. No job to small or to big and definitely no job to dirty! 
 
Our daily essentials consist of feeding all the animals, poo picking the fields, cleaning the bird houses, and cleaning the guinea pig huts. As well as this we also like to carry out regular health checks on each animals to ensure they are healthy as they can be. Many of the people we support enjoy doing this, they take great pride in knowing our animals are healthy because they have contributed to looking after them so well. A few even help us to administer medication when needed.  

Another part of their job includes the public. We run guinea pig handling sessions and alpaca feeding on a daily basis. The people we support love to teach the children about our animals and how they care for them. The farm isn’t just about cleaning up after our animals, they all enjoy human company. We often take the ponies down to the woods and the people we support take it in turns to lead them independently.  
 
Our farm members are passionate about all our animals and a few have formed a bond with them over time. Many of the people we support are also interested in the behaviour and training of our animals for example: 
 
James, who works on the farm on a Friday, has bonded with the ponies. Particularly Rupert. He adores James giving him a tail scratch and will occasionally let him sit down next to him while he is having a snooze. 
 
Josh , who works on the farm on a Friday, has bonded with our 3 muscovy ducks. When they first arrived they were frightened of people. Josh spent lots of time working with them to gain their trust. They will now eat out of his hand!  
 
Vicky, who works on the farm on a Tuesday and Friday, is helping us to train the donkeys. Tom and Jerry the donkeys are a bit cheeky and don’t like to walk on a lead. Vicky is helping us to teach them how behave in a positive way.  
 
Whilst the Aldingbourne Country Centre is currently closed, our animals are still a top priority! We are caring for them daily and spending extra time with them until they can see you all again.  
 
For more information about the Aldingbourne Trust or our Open Farm please visit www.aldingbournetrust.org
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Aldingbourne Country Centres Digital Media Studio learn to Photoshop!

26/3/2020

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The Digital Media Studio at the Aldingbourne Country Centre is a creative hub where adults with learning disabilties and/or autism are able to access digital technology and use it to design mugs, make digital artwork, short films and stop-motion animations.  

Members of the Digital Media Studio have been learning Photoshop skills recently. They have been using the software to make Guinea Pig name tags for our brilliant Open Farm. After a few lessons the Photoshoppers were able to make these name tags independently.  

They have also been using Photoshop to design greetings cards which we then sell in the ACC Gift Shop. The members use templates to create a wide range of cards for different special occasions which include, birthdays, Mother and Father's Day and Christmas amongst others.  

Our biggest sellers have been a range of cards using images designed by our brilliant Earthworks group members. The Earthworks members have made collages and pictures which we scan and make into cards. Earthworks have loved making them and watching them being made into printed cards.  
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For more information about our Digital Media Studio visit their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/accdigitalmedia
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New Children's Play Area in our Cafe´

20/2/2020

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Our Quarry café just got even more exciting with the addition of a play area for young children! Along with our famous slide, and not to mention delicious cakes and lunches, we wanted to provide you with this area to give your visit to the café at Aldingbourne Country Centre that little something extra.

With padded flooring and low fencing to enclose the area, your little ones can play safely whilst you enjoy a relaxing coffee and catch up with friends. 
It gives parents and carers the perfect opportunity to have a little break and sit down, knowing that the kids are happily letting their imaginations run wild in this little play world. Will they hone their cooking skills in our play kitchen, or build a grand new fort with our building blocks?
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You can visit our Quarry café for free, with plenty of parking on site, or let the excitement continue by getting a day pass to the Country Centre to enjoy a whole host of fun activities including the open farm, soft play for 0-5’s, mini golf, maze, and more!   ​
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The perfect gift for the family and friends.

19/2/2020

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It’s impossible to visit the Aldingbourne Country Centre's Farm and not fall in love with one – or all – of the animals! Their adoption packages give anyone the chance to bring a part of the farm into their family. From alpacas to pigs, goats to geese, there are plenty of animals to choose from and through doing so you will be supporting the work of the Aldingbourne Trust and helping make a difference to the people they support.
I went down for a visit to the farm this morning to see who I’d choose to adopt. It was great fun going around and meeting all the animals, some were very friendly and inquisitive, others were more interested in their breakfast! Now normally goats are my farm favourites, but it was the pigs today that made me laugh out loud with their grunting and snuffling. I decided that I would like to adopt Horace the Kune Kune pig. He looked quite happy in his muddy home with his friend Rosemary – it looked like he had a big smile on his face!

I can't wait to receive my adoption package – most of all the chance to visit the farm again especially to meet Horace up close. I’d get the chance to feed him, give him his favourite tummy tickle, and have the opportunity to learn some interesting facts from our friendly farm staff.

Also included in my adoption package is a personalised certificate, photo and a fact sheet on Horace, it’s a great way to get involved in the farm and learn more about all sorts of different animals. Plus, I will receive regular updates and photos on how Horace is doing throughout the year.

For more information about joining me and adopting an animal visit www.aldingbournetrust.org/adoptananimal.html#/

Emma Lennon - Lancing 


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A Day in the Life of a Police Officer

13/2/2020

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On the 11th January the people we support at the Country Centre had a special visit from PCSO Caroline Wilson and PC Rachel Walsh, they came to give a talk about keeping safe and what the Police do to serve our community.  
 
The talk was organised by one of our Support Workers Tracey Ford, who wanted the people we support to understand the role of a Police officer so they would feel confident in asking for help if they ever needed it.  Everyone really enjoyed the talk and a few people even had the opportunity to try on some police uniform, which also helped them feel more comfortable and confident around the police officers.
 
They also brought a Police car with them so the people we support to look at and even had fun posing for a few photos with the two officers.
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Creating greetings for all occasions….

5/2/2020

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Our Wednesday group in our Earthworks enterprise have been having great fun creating pictures and crafts with a Valentine and Spring theme.
 
They really enjoy creating artwork using recycling paper in a mosaic technique, to produce pictures of different themes that are used to create greetings cards for our Country Centre shop.  They have been working hard on producing images for Valentine, Mother’s Day and Good Luck cards so we have a range of cards available for all occasions.  Their designs are scanned up by our Digital Media team and then printed on cards which display who the artist is on the back.  So, our special greetings cards are designed and made in house by the people we support. 
 
Each day in Earthworks a different group of the people we support take part in craft activities, and as each group is different, we look at a variety of arts and craft techniques to suit their own unique skills set.  What will they be up to next?
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Preparations for the Spring

5/2/2020

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Our horticulture team are actively involved in maintaining the trees, shrubs and plants around the Country Centre site.  The team have been busy on the orchard today with staff, volunteers and people we support.


James Simpson was having great fun pruning the willow ready for it to start shooting in the Spring.  James really enjoys working in the orchard and especially likes it when the apples and pears are ready for picking and eating! 
 
The trees were all part of the original orchard from the early days of the Country Centre when the Trust started as a horticultural enterprise.  With the development of the new Quarry building, the trees were carefully and lovingly moved to their current position so that they could continue to grow and produce fruit for the people we support to enjoy.  With many varieties of apples and pears, we also have a raspberry patch which is being pruned back ready to produce a crop for us this summer. 
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Keeping horticulture organised

4/2/2020

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One of the people we support, Kerry Tapper enjoys working in our horticulture department.  She enjoys helping to keep the department tidy and organised. 
 
We work towards being environmentally friendly trying to reduce, reuse and recycle as much as we can.  Claire Seaby, one of our horticulture volunteers was able to obtain a donation of gardening gloves for the horticulture team to use.  This has meant that every member of the team has their own pair of gardening gloves, so we no longer need to use plastic gloves! 
 
Kerry had the idea to organise the gloves, so it was easier for people to find them.  Creating this shelving system, each one is named to make it more personal for each member of the team.  She even organised them so the tallest people’s gloves were at the top!  Now everyone has a pair of gloves and hopefully will always know where they have put them.  Kerry has also spent time organising all of the plant labels, which are colour coordinated by type to make it easier to find what they are looking for. 

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East Wittering Fire Station Visit

24/1/2020

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A group of clients visited the East Wittering Fire Station on Thursday 16th January to learn about fire safety, the importance of smoke alarms in the home and how fire fighters respond to emergencies such as fires, car crashes and sea rescues. The clients had a great time as they got to sit in a fire engine and rescue boat and they even had a go with the fire hoses.  

The Trust would like to thank to our lovely volunteer Claire Seaby for arranging the visit, Ruby for managing the logistics of getting us all there, Louise for driving and finally massive thanks to Neil and John, the fire fighters, for showing us around the station.

​
By, Rob Nettleton, Digital Media Group Lead 
​
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Trip to London

15/1/2020

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The Trust was recently invited to take part in the Small Business Saturday event in London.  One of the people we support, Andrew Pickthall went to the event to represent the Trust along with Leah Moore from our marketing team. 
To make the most of his visit to London, Andrew took the opportunity to sight see whilst visiting the city.  Having taken the train to London Victoria, they took the tube to Westminster station where they took in the sights of Buckingham Palace.  Walking to Parliament Square, Andrew enjoyed seeing the statues, including the one of Winston Churchill.  
The event they were attending was hosted at the House of Lords, where they entered via Black Rod’s Garden to the Cholmondeley room and terrace which overlooks the River Thames.  With a drink's reception and buffet, Andrew enjoyed tucking into the food.  He was very confident telling people about the Trust and what he does at the Country Centre.  There were several speeches throughout the event, including one from The Rt Hon. the Lord Young of Graffham CH DL.   

After the event at the House of Lords they made their way back to Victoria Station for the journey home, where one of Andrew’s highlights of day was being treated to a Burger King for all his help during the visit that day.
Becky Main- Sales, Marketing & PR Officer 
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Open 7 Days a week, 10am - 4pm
Blackmill Lane, Norton
Chichester, West Sussex
PO18 0JP
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