Tucked away down a quiet side street in the heart of East Oxford is a rather special city farm — the kind of place you could easily walk past without ever knowing it was there. I went along with photographer Reuben Worlledge, who was there to capture images for the farm’s Brand the Bus advertising campaign. Each year, members of the public vote for their favourite local charities to feature on Oxford Bus Company’s double-decker buses, and Oxford City Farm was one of this year’s brilliant runners-up.
We met a whole host of farmyard residents, including sheep, hens, goats and pigs, along with a team of brilliant volunteers who feature in the photos and look after all the animals and produce at this amazing urban farm.
In a world where we are increasingly removed from where our produce comes from, community farming hubs like this one are invaluable. Every Saturday the farm hosts a bustling market where the local community comes to buy veg, plants, meat and more. People of all ages can come to the farm, interact with the animals and learn about high welfare, sustainable farming.
Oxford City Farm “serves as a community hub, connecting people with their food, each other and an accessible green space to grow food and nourish the wellbeing of our local community and our environment.”
As the sun shone, we fed the goats, marvelled at the veg, and spritzed the tomatoes, along with having home-made cake with the volunteers at break time. What more could you want from a Friday at work?!
Photographs by Reuben Worlledge
