Heeley City Farm

Heeley City Farm is a charity helping people of all ages from disadvantaged backgrounds across the city of Sheffield.

It does this on its small, inner-city working rare breed farm, kitchen gardens and community gardens across the city. It is also a visitor centre which is open 364 days a year with a garden centre and cafe.

Working alongside adults with learning difficulties, children with behavioural needs and people with poor mental health, it supports them to look after animals and its garden with the team.

Heeley City Farm works with people from varied backgrounds and also works with lots of different types of animals. For many visitors and volunteers the farm is part of their daily routine, exercise and therapy working alongside the plants and animals and this became increasingly important over the pandemic.

The farm is also actively involved in the community of Sheffield with a number of projects including local food growing, Sheffield Safe Places and a community heritage department.

The charity has wanted to create an outside space for birds for many years and one that can be enjoyed by both volunteers wanting to care for them and visitors and the Delamere Dairy Foundation is now funding this project.

“We are so pleased that Delamere have chosen to fund our project and building is well underway with our outdoor bird aviary which will include benches for people to view them from and a huge space for the birds to fly and live in.

“This will also work as a sensory and relaxing area for some volunteers who can find many everyday situations overwhelming. We are also using some of the funding to rebuild some of the animal fencing around our site (which is desperately needed) and to fund the staff working alongside our amazing young volunteers.”