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Social Farming-Social Impact
Social Farming-Social Impact
Start date: Oct 1, 2016,
End date: Sep 30, 2018
PROJECT
FINISHED
To share, develop and transfer innovative adult education practice across Europe in Social Farming, which will have a positiveimpact on social problems.Social Farming is defined as therapeutic learning activities/projects with animals, plants and the countryside.It is used for many groups including learning disabilities, mental health problems, families with a high cost to the public purse,people out of work, young people at risk of being excluded from school, people with dementia, drug and alcohol issues, to supportcarers, teenage parents , homeless people etc.Partners would work together to show examples of how social problems are tackled with Adult Education through Social Farming ineach partners country.These problems include:• Low confidence of user groups• Worklessness and unemployment due to health issues or low self esteem• Mental ill health• Poor health due to poor diet and lack of exercise• Food poverty• Social isolation and loneliness• Social anxietyThis will be done by holding 5 transnational meetings , a teacher training event for staff from each partner organisation at the end ofIt is planned that 5 Partners from Italy, Austria, Spain, Bulgaria and UK will take part. Each of them bringing two people to each meeting.The outcomes will be:5 participating countries20 Case Studies demonstrating innovative practice in Adult Education though Social Farming which has had a clear social impact. ( 4from each partner country). These will be in booklet form with a summary and from a wide variety of client groups. ( IntellectualOutput)20 Case Studies shared and presented on a Project Website in a way that allows others to share and disseminate the result and usethem for evidence of good practice at local, regional and transnational level.A Facebook Page which shares ideas- Minimum 1 post per partner every month.The impact of this project will be a robust and diverse set of case studies that clearly support the case for funding adult educationthrough social farming. Each one will demonstrate the impact upon the individual, the social impact and the likely saving to thepublic purse through people being closer to being able to work, actually returning to work, going on to volunteering, being moreconfident, reduced social isolation etc.These will be disseminated and promoted widely following our dissemination strategy (attached as upload), through a project website and Facebook Page and through each partners networks in each country. These case studies will be used widely to give clear examples of the benefits to the individual, the wider social benefits and to share innovative approaches for a wide variety of client groups such as mental ill health, learning disabilities, food poverty, troubled families, worklessness, alcohol and drug misuse, domestic abuse and volunteering.The synergy of this project is the sharing of innovative practice in adult education through Social Farming to gain social impact andcreate cohesive communities. The European Dimension of this project will offer solutions and shared learning in a much wider sensethat the project being completed in one country as each country has a different approach. The partners countries have beenselected for their reputation in developing, testing, implementing and sharing innovative approaches and flexible pathways.