Gorgie City Farm -- For People

Services For People

Facilities, tours and services provided by the farm for the public, schools and more.

Schools, Groups and Learners

Guided Tours

Signposts to bantams, ducks and ponies. We offer guided tours for nurseries, schools and other groups at £2 per head (no charge for teachers/leaders). Tours must be booked, last one hour and usually allow touching and feeding of some livestock. We can gear the tour to your choice of topic be it 'New Life', 'Caring for Animals', or 'Food and Farming'. If there are more than about 12 or 15 on the tour we will split you into two groups, a better experience. Minimum group size is 5. Booked groups may reserve a room free of charge for snacks, bags etc.
Groups are also welcome to visit the farm self-guided, please make a donation. You can hire a room as a base for £10 per hour.

Contact the Education Officer for further details on the above.

Workshops

As well as guided tours, you can take part in a 'workshop'. These last 2 hours and combine the guided tour with an activity. A good example is our 'Harvest' workshop, where pupils tour the farm learning about the importance of cereals as food for us and our animals, then, in the classroom, they thrash and winnow wheat then mill the grains to make flour. We then (using clean flour!) make and eat pancakes.
These Workshops cost £4 per head. We can gear them to your choice of topic. contact the Education Officer for more information.

City Farm: Global Farm

A new interactive workshop starting in 2008 'City Farm : Global Farm' run jointly with VETAID, an Edinburgh based charity, is designed to complement the curriculum. Suitable for Primary 4 to 7, it will develop understanding of the challenges faced by food producers and rural communities around the world, and the influences we have on them. The project will expand the use of the farm as an educational resource while promoting both local and global citizenship. CPD also offered.
Contact the Education Officer or Marsha at VETAID, telephone 0131 445 6094.

Note that thanks to external funding the VETAID workshops are FREE!
(If opted for as part of an onsite workshop, charge wil be as for tour.)

Classes for Adults

Craft and other classes for adults are held in our purpose built Education Centre. At present there is a Singing class on Wednesday morning, Spinning on Friday mornings and Art on Friday afternoons. contact the Education Officer if you have an idea for a class or wish to run one here.

Room Hire

The Education Centre Meeting Room is available for hire for training, meetings, functions etc at (2008) £10 per hour. contact the Education Officer for details.

Information on safety during your visit can be found on the General Info page.

Special Occasions

Birthday Parties

For many years now the farm has run childrens birthday parties on Saturdays and Sundays. For details follow the link.

Mobile Pet Service

This unique service is available in and around the City of Edinburgh, we can sometimes travel outside the city so please get in touch of you are interested.

Gorgie Farm's mobile pet service will bring a selection of small animals to various local residential homes, hospitals and schools. A team of up to three staff will accompany a selection of rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, hamsters, snakes, tortoises, chinchillas and chickens to allow groups of up to 30 individuals to handle, poke and prod.

Being around animals can be relaxing, therapeutic and educational. Handling and stroking pets can help relieve stress and tension. The combination of friendly chatty Pet Lodge staff and tame, cuddly pets provide an enjoyable and stimulating visit for the service users.

The Mobile Pet Service has been running for around seven years and is extremely popular, having built up a strong reputation with users who book us again and again. Due to time constraints the sessions are only available on a Monday afternoon. Due to the popularity of the service forward planning is strongly recommended.

On a larger scale the Mobile Pet Service can be booked to attend local galas during the summer months. This has proved to be hugely popular at every event we have attended over the last few years and makes a nice addition to any event for young children.

Get in touch with the Farm's Pet Lodge Staff by telephone or email for availability and rates. Please see the Contact Us page.

Mucking In

Volunteering

Many people volunteer at Gorgie City Farm, doing jobs from animal care to fundraising, litter picking to computing. When you visit some of the staff you see will be volunteers. Working with animals is very, very popular. As such there is usually a waiting list for this kind of work!

A key volunteer, the pony and some visitors meet one another.
If you wish to volunteer, please write or email giving your details including what skills you can offer, when you are available each week and which area of the farm you would like to work in. There are waiting lists in many areas however we have a good record for folk moving on to employment or further training (which then creates openings). Some areas are more seasonal eg the education section, gardens etc and opportunities will fluctuate throughout the year. Contact the Volunteer Co-ordinator for more details and basic paperwork.

In particular young volunteers can do the following:

Farmers' Helpers

In the school holidays 8-12 year-olds can join in 'Farmers' Helpers' sessions any weekday [of full weeks]. They do real farm jobs: mucking out the stables, collecting eggs etc. Booking essential. See Be A Farmer for details.

Young City Farmers Club

Our popular Young City Farmers Club meets Saturday mornings 10.00 till 12.30.

Placements

Work placements for school students are provided via Gateway through participating schools. Vet students and others (including school students not included above) seeking placements / work experience should apply to the Volunteer Co-ordinator in writing, by phone or email. See contacts.