Kentish Town City Farm

One of my favourite things I found in Kentish Town... Kentish Town City Farm.

Here are some photos I took there today. This farm was the first inner city farm to be built in London - since then several more have popped up around the city and I just think it's a really interesting phenomenon. There is such a contrast between the farm and the city surrounding it: a railway track even cuts through the farm itself and I recorded some sound clips there with the mix of bird song and farm animals with the odd train passing through or a siren coming from a nearby street. Really interesting mix between country and city, busy and quiet that to me sort of sums up the diversity and mix up that is London.

I think there are lots of ideas surrounding the farm that could be really interesting: in terms of broadcast I think it works really well visually. I think there are some really interesting stories too - there were some young kids sweeping and stuff who actually work on the farm - they must only have been about 9 and they were so cute telling me all the different jobs they had to do. There is such a good community feel here, there are classes and singalongs run for young children and allotments and gardens with gardening workshops. A real hub of people and hive of positivity.

I thought for broadcast documenting the life of a city farm might be really interesting - you could have footage of the farm (stories of the animals, running of the farm etc...) juxtaposed against inner city footage - maybe showing the homes and lives of the people that work there- they may work on a farm yet perhaps they live in a rough, busy area of London around the corner. Perhaps it could be done as a set of two completely different stories - the farm and maybe another community area close by or in some way linked that showed a completely different side of London for a real contrast.

Why do the parents that bring their children here think it is important for their city children to experience something of country life? (made me think of the Town Mouse, Country Mouse story...) This farm is free for the public so relies on donations and also government subsidies - therefore some of the classes and things for children have had to be cut back - the implications of this could be investigated. There have been many programmes before that document the life of zoos, nature parks, farms etc and animal stories obviously appeal to us as an animal loving nation, but just thought the whole concept of a city farm and a real contrast of urban and rural was an interesting one.

This idea of community ties in with some other things / places I found interesting (more to follow on this blog...) I think the story of the farm would be particularly relevant at the moment - it would be a story of positivity amidst doom and gloom going on in the world. It is a free thing for families to do - so recession friendly. Also it is an example of harking back to traditional values that I think are becoming increasingly prevalent because of the difficult economic climate / troubles going on in the world.

 As well as the gardens and farm itself there are also allotments here. I spotted this little shed that had loads of interesting stuff going on inside- it looked like a real haven and I really wanted to find out who owns it, how they use it etc - could tie in with a whole thing about finding a sanctuary in a city.

This sign made me laugh, but also showed quite well the whole 'city farm' thing. Made me wonder what difficulties there are with trying to maintain a project like this in a city.

Libby