It is with great pleasure that Farms for City Children announces that they are welcoming JB Gill into the charity family as their new Ambassador. JB enjoyed an immersive experience at Wick Court farm in Gloucestershire earlier this week where he met the Farms for City Children team and gave children on a residential from a Lambeth school a sneak peek of his first children’s book, Ace and the Animal Heroes. JB had an opportunity to witness first-hand, the life changing experience that children and young people receive when they become farmers during their residential on one of the charities three farms.

Farms for City Children exists to provide access to the natural world for children and young people growing up in urban areas. We believe that access to nature, should be a right open to, and enjoyed by all. Farms for City Children welcome over 3000 children and young people each year, aged 8 – 16, to enjoy an immersive residential of “muck and magic” on one of the three amazing heritage farms: Nethercott House, Devon, Lower Treginnis, Pembrokeshire and Wick Court, Gloucestershire.  Cultivating meaningful connections with nature through food and farming activities has the power to build confidence, curiosity, and courage, and the Farms for City Children experience can be the antidote to feelings of anxiety, loneliness, and isolation that many children and young people are currently experiencing.

CEO at Farms for City Children, Donna Marie Edmonds said of the partnership: “Farms for City Children is absolutely thrilled to have JB Gill on board as an Ambassador for the charity. JB’s passion for farming as an industry, for connecting people to greater knowledge about the source of the food they eat, and his tremendous commitment to changing the face of agriculture by encouraging those not from farming backgrounds to see their life in the countryside, resonates deeply with the mission of the charity. We welcome JB’s advocacy of our work and look forward to the many opportunities to campaign about the vital contribution that farming makes to our society.” JB added “It really is a delight to be working with Farms for City Children as their Ambassador. My love for the countryside was most certainly sparked in my early years spending time in the Caribbean, and there is no better backdrop for children to learn about their environment, animals, wildlife, the countryside, growing food, and our responsibility to the planet than on a working farm. Farms for City Children helps to bridge that gap between city and country, while filling children who might otherwise never visit a farm, with an experience that will last a lifetime!” Rachel Goult Chair of the Board of Trustees for Farms for City Children said “the trustees are delighted to welcome JB as an Ambassador to our charity. His farming experience and literary focus makes him an ideal role model to inspire our young beneficiaries”