Sometimes when you live in a stressful, fast-paced city like London you need to get away from the hustle and bustle, the bricks and concrete and get back to nature. There’s no better way to get in touch with nature in London than to take a trip to Kentish Town City Farm. The Kentish Town City Farm, located right in the borough of Camden, has been open since 1972. In their own words, they offer “lifelong learning, outdoor therapy, education to children, adults with special needs and anyone needing respite from the strains of urban life.” We had an amazing day, and here are some things that we learned:
Geese have a bad reputation, but they’re quite nice
You should always respect animals. They don’t exist to entertain you, so you shouldn’t poke and annoy them to get a reaction. But having said that, geese have a bad reputation for being aggressive, and for being the ones who attack first. On our trip to Kentish Town City Farm, we found the exact opposite to be true. Their geese are delightful and cute, always walking around together like two lovebirds.
Cows like attention from people
Kentish Town City Farm’s cow loves to be the centre of attention. She enjoyed coming up to the fence to say hello to us, and it even seemed like she was posing for photos. “Please” she said, “catch my good side.”
Frogs have great camouflage
It took longer than we’d like to admit to see the frogs in their enclosure. They’re masters of disguise with amazing natural camouflage, and they stay very, very still.
Nobody chills more than goats
If you’re stressed out with work, bills, Covid, and a million other things you can learn a very important lesson from goats. Goats take the prize for being the most relaxed residents at Kentish Town City Farm. Sitting on top of their favourite rock without a care in the world, they should be role models for everyone in London.
Kentish Town City Farm is a great trip for an afternoon out with the kids or if you want to de-stress. They do great work taking care of these (and more!) animals for the enjoyment of Londoners. If you want to support their work, make a donation here. Or visit them yourself. There’s so much to learn!
This is Ingla School of English‘s weekly blog, intended as reading practise for our students in Turnpike Lane, in London, and around the globe. We hope you’ve enjoyed it and take a look at the rest of our writing, much of which has activities for teachers to use in the classroom.