MVUF 45th Birthday Fencing Fundraiser

Aim: Help Us Celebrate and Secure Our Future.

This year marks a huge milestone for Meanwood Valley Urban Farm – we’re celebrating our 45th birthday! Since our humble beginnings in 1980, when the site was little more than a caravan and a few open fields, we’ve grown into a thriving 26-acre green space in the heart of Leeds. A place for learning, play, community-building, and connection with nature.

To mark this occasion, we’re launching a fundraiser to raise £45,000 for an essential — though often overlooked — part of our infrastructure: fencing. It might not be the first thing you think of when you picture our farm, but fencing is absolutely critical. It keeps our animals safe, makes the site more accessible for everyone, and allows us to manage the land more sustainably.

🤝 Why We Need Your Support

Over the decades, the farm has become a vital resource for the local community — home to animals, gardens, and projects that support people of all ages and backgrounds. Our visitors include:

• Adults with learning disabilities, who work on the farm every day and gain confidence, purpose, and skills.
• School groups and local children, who come to learn about food, farming, and the environment in a hands-on way.
• Volunteers and community growers, who help us produce fresh, seasonal food.
• Families and nature lovers, who visit for a relaxing, educational, and enjoyable day out.

However, our fencing is now in a poor state across much of the site. It’s becoming harder to safely contain animals, harder to keep the animals accessible to all visitors, and harder to provide a rich, accessible experience for all visitors.

What the New Fencing Will Do

🌱 With your support, we’ll be able to:

• Keep animals safe and closer to popular visitor areas
• Improve accessibility so people of all ages and abilities can enjoy the site
• Support pasture rotation for healthier animals and land
• Increase biodiversity, improving the experience for nature lovers (think more blooming flowers, butterflies and bugs!)
• Retain animals like our pigs year-round, improving our educational and visitor offerings
• Prevent us from having to close parts of the site due to safety concerns

We’ve already started — fencing in the upper car park field has been replaced thanks to some early support. But to complete the project across our large site, we need to raise the full £45,000. We've applied for grants, but as a small charity, we’re also turning to the community that helped build this farm from day one.

💸 Where Your Money Goes

This is a project-specific fundraiser. Every penny will go directly towards repairing and replacing our fencing. If we exceed our target, extra funds will support core site repairs and running costs, helping us keep the farm open and thriving.

We’re committed to being transparent and responsible with your support — we know it means a lot, and we’re deeply grateful.

✨ Can’t Donate? You Can Still Help!

We understand not everyone can donate — and that’s okay. You can still help by sharing our fundraiser with friends, family, and colleagues. Every share spreads awareness and helps us reach new supporters.

🎁 Rewards and Prize Draw 

As a thank you, we’re offering some fantastic rewards and running a Prize Draw. Tickets for the prize draw are available in bundles (1, 3, 5, 10, or 20), and prizes will be drawn two months after the launch. 

Rewards can be unlocked by making donations of a specified size. Explore what there is to offer in the rewards section below, and click on the option you are interested in — but act fast, as these are limited and in high demand!

A huge thank you to all the local businesses and organisations who have donated prizes and rewards — your support means the world to us.

💖Join Us in Securing the Future of Meanwood Valley Urban Farm

For 45 years, we’ve been here for the community — and we want to be here for another 45 and beyond. With your help, we can continue to provide a safe, inclusive, and inspiring space for people and nature to thrive together.

Please donate, share, and help us celebrate this special milestone.

Thank you for being part of the Meanwood Valley Urban Farm x

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*Prize Draw Prizes*

With every Prize draw ticket, you gain the chance to win any of the prizes below. Winners will be announced at the start of September.

Shiloh Coffee 500g bag

1:1 barista training at the Barn Café

Brunch for 2 + a £50 bar tab and Hyde Park Book Club

Case of Virtuous Beer 

A3 signed Zac Rosso MVUF Print

North Star Bundle (coffee, stickers and a tote bag)

Lunch and a coffee, and North Star Café (worth £80!)

Marks and Spenser's relaxation gift set

£50 voucher Out of the Woods Willow Weaving

Apple Tree and Pruning Workshop from Fruit Works Coop

Medium Veg Box

The Sanctuary Spa hand care gift box

Farm membership

Sauna session at Leeds community Sauna for you and a friend 

Tandem self care gift set (incense, candle, notebook, voucher)

Purple Gift set (bracelet, key chain, purse, lavender bag)

Bracken Hill Yorkshire Preserves Gift Set of 6 jars

Green Canyon Spa Lavender Gift set

Papillion Dartmoor Distillery Miniature Gin Selection

**MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED**

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 19th September 2025 at 4:39pm