about us

Magdalen Farm,  at the confluence of Devon, Dorset and Somerset, is the home of the Magdalen Environmental trust*, and of hands-on outdoor experiences that encourage learning, wellbeing and belonging. 

Throughout the academic year we are pleased to welcome school children from across the country.

At weekends and in school holidays we welcome people who, for one reason or another, live in isolation from nature, including young carers, refugees and people who live with poor mental health.

Throughout all this, we include people who live in acute deprivation, and people who have disabilities or special educational needs, and their families. 

We create extraordinary adventures in nature for all our visitors through a wide range of activities offered on the farm, in our fields and woodlands, and on the banks of the River Axe.

When people experience and understand the natural world, they are more likely to care for it and protect it.  Each year, 5000 – 6000 people come to our 132 acre organic farm and nature reserve to enjoy unique hands-on outdoor learning and care farming. Their discoveries help them develop meaningful relationships with the environment and with each other, and we work with organisers to create learning programmes structured for the needs of each visitor group.

• We are nationally recognised for the excellence of our schools trip provision and are proud to hold the Learning Outside the Classroom Quality Badge, a mark of excellence for safe, high‑quality outdoor learning 

• We are not-for-profit, and keep the costs of school trips to an absolute minimum, without compromise on excellent standards.

• We offer learning modules that cover National Curriculum objectives across all Key Stages and year groups.

• We offer additional support for children living in acute financial disadvantage and for people, mainly children, living with disability. Tailored content, accommodation and specialist equipment such as ‘Tramper’ vehicles all help to make the farm welcome and accessible

• Our ‘Just Act Natural’ programme for families who have children with special educational needs or a disability is heavily subsidised by the National Lottery Community Fund and we are also grateful to many other partners and charitable trusts such as The Ernest Cook Trust who help us keep all visits as accessible to as many people as possible.

• We offer volunteer, partnering and community engagement opportunities

We are committed to creating welcome and inclusive spaces where everyone can feel valued, supported, and able to thrive. And of course, all our learning modules reflect our commitment to build meaningful relationships with the environment and each other – for example, we use pizza making activities to talk about food production and energy use, and tree planting and seed collection to talk about climate change mitigation. As you would expect, the meals we offer to visitors are very much ‘farm to fork’.   

Our commitment to sustainability shapes everything we do.  Our farming practices are registered Organic, we are gradually transforming 100 acres of farmland to increase the variety and abundance of wildlife, and we have invested significantly in ongoing restoration of the River Axe, one of England’s most important, but currently degraded, rivers. We are proud to be one of the first organisations entrusted with a DEFRA Landscape Recovery project. 

The Magdalen Environmental Trust is run by a dedicated, collaborative team with a wide range of specialisms. We have highly experienced Education Rangers who lead each visit group and a support team which includes chefs and housekeepers to make ensure every visitor is well-fed, comfortable, safe and supported. The charity also benefits from the experience of its seven Trustees.  We reinvest all the monies we raise back into our operations and ongoing development.

A potted history …

1990s

The Trust was founded in 1990, when it bought the farm and converted dilapidated buildings to accommodate visitors coming for nature-based education. The farm become Organic, trees were planted, and vegetable gardens dug.

2000s

By the early 2000s, it has grown into an excellent school trips provider, and it has continued to provide excellence ever since.

2010s

The “care farming” provision for people who live with disabilities or severely disadvantage circumstances, was developed in the 2010s, when it became a significant part of the charity’s work, as it is to this day.

2020s

The education and care farming offers go from strength to strength and we keep adding new things to build on the success so far, but the additional focus so far in the 2020s is the restoration of nature. 100 acres of Magdalen Farm are developing Wood Pasture habitat, wildlife-rich and reminiscent of old commons, and we have carried out some extraordinary and experimental habitat restoration work in the river.

*Registered charity number 1002373