Stonebridge In Action: Our Mission
Stonebridge City Farm & Gardens grows more than plants, we grow people, community, and opportunity.
Stonebridge exists to provide a safe, open, and reliable place where people can belong, contribute, and take part in meaningful work. We use a working farm environment to create stability, routine, and connection for people who are often excluded from other systems.
We are free to enter because access matters. We are open because continuity matters. And we are rooted in animals, land, and shared responsibility because real work creates real connection.
People at the Heart of Our Mission
Our mission is powered by people. Every volunteer is welcomed as they are, no prerequisites, no performance metrics. We believe belonging comes before contribution, fostering confidence, skills, and community connection. Volunteers come from all walks of life, including those experiencing mental health challenges, neurodivergence, trauma, disability, or social isolation. By putting people at the heart of our mission, we cultivate not only gardens but resilience, independence, and lasting friendships
Our Responsibility
As a registered charity, Stonebridge is free to enter and open to all. We rely on donations, regular supporters, and partners to keep the farm running, the animals cared for, and the space safe and welcoming.
By supporting Stonebridge, you are helping sustain a place that:
- Holds people over time
- Offers dignity through contribution
- Keeps access open, regardless of income
Looking Ahead
Our focus is not on growth for its own sake, but on depth, stability, and care. We will continue to strengthen the systems that allow people to participate safely and meaningfully, while protecting the farm as a working environment grounded in animals, land, and shared responsibility.
Our impact lies in staying open, consistent, and rooted in the everyday work that makes belonging possible.
Stonebridge exists because people need places like this.
Investment in Stonebridge Supports:
- A cost-effective, preventative model of community support
- High engagement and retention through continuity
- A proven, place-based infrastructure rooted in real work
- Outcomes aligned with health, wellbeing, inclusion, and community resilience priorities
Funding sustains an institution that reduces isolation and builds capacity before crisis point.
Sustainability & Use of Funds
Stonebridge is free to enter and relies on donations and grant funding to:
- Maintain skilled staff and safe ratios
- Care for animals and land responsibly
- Support volunteers consistently
- Keep the site open and accessible year-round
Funding directly supports the continuation of a model that works because it is stable, relational, and embedded in everyday life.
Our Impact
Bringing hope to those in need
Stonebridge is not a visitor attraction with added community activity. It is a working farm that operates as social infrastructure.
Each day, the routines of animal care, growing, maintenance, food preparation, and welcoming the public create structure and purpose. These routines allow people to show up, be useful, and be known over time. The farm provides boundaries, responsibility, and predictability, all of which are essential for safety and belonging.
Animals are central to this work. Caring for them creates rhythm, focus, and accountability. Land and growing spaces provide calm, practical learning, and a sense of progress that is visible and shared.
Support Stonebridge
Your donation can make a real difference in the lives of those in need. Help us to continue our vital work by giving what you can today.
Who we support
Stonebridge is used by thousands of people each year, including:
- Volunteers, many living with disability, poor mental health, or additional learning needs
- Families seeking an affordable, welcoming place to spend time
- School groups learning about animals, food, and nature
- Students and community organisations needing a supportive environment
We do not ask people to fit a label to take part. Contribution comes before diagnosis. People are known by what they do and how they participate, not by what they are referred for.
The Impact of Stonebridge is Cumulative and Relational
It builds over time
For individuals, this means:
- Increased routine and stability
- Greater confidence through responsibility
- Reduced isolation through regular connection
- Skills developed through practical, real work
In our community, access to nature, social connection, and purposeful activity is limited for many. The farm is more than a green space, it’s a lifeline. Here, people gain:
- Confidence & Skills: Supported volunteering roles give people responsibility, routine, and opportunities to learn practical and social skills.
- Wellbeing & Connection: Interacting with animals, tending gardens, and spending time in nature reduces isolation, promotes mental health, and encourages social interaction.
- Learning & Growth: Children, young people, and adults discover where food comes from, develop life skills, and explore sustainable living practices.
Stonebridge is not a short-term intervention. It is a place people rely on.
Why this matters
Many people who come to Stonebridge are navigating instability elsewhere. Services change. Funding ends. Support thresholds rise. Stonebridge provides continuity where other systems crack.
Keeping a place like this open is not incidental. It requires care, skilled staff, and sustained support. That is why we treat relationships, safety, and access as core infrastructure, not optional extras.
Stonebridge is not a short-term project. It is a piece of social infrastructure.
Funder support enables us to keep a place open where people build stability, confidence, and belonging through real work, over time, in a setting that communities rely on.
