About Us

OUR HISTORY

OUR TRUSTEES

OUR VALUES

OUR HISTORY

OUR TRUSTEES

OUR VALUES

WHO WE ARE

Windmill Hill City Farm is a registered charity and 4.5-acre green space in South Bristol, just a 20-minute walk from the city centre. We improve local lives through education, recreation, and therapeutic activities, serving as a vital hub for community wellbeing and inclusion.

Our site features a café and farm shop, children’s nursery, community and kitchen gardens, farm animals, play areas, spaces for hire, and a 5-a-side football pitch - all designed to connect people, nature, and wellbeing while supporting our charitable work across the city.

OUR EARLY DAYS

Windmill Hill City Farm began life in the 1970s as a grassroots project, created by local volunteers determined to transform an empty, derelict space into something special. What started as a modest community initiative quickly grew into one of Bristol’s most loved urban green spaces — a place to learn, grow, and belong.

HERITAGE IN ACTION

The history of the city farm, in words and photos, is available to the public through history boards around the farm and online at our farm history site.

EXPLORE OUR FULL HISTORY

OUR TRUSTEES

The Board of Trustees is elected from the membership of the organisation at the annual general meeting of the charity. Trustees meet every eight weeks to undertake the board business. These board meetings are open for members to observe. Members wishing to attend should inform the Chief Executive at least one week in advance of the meeting.

Louisa Mafeld

chair of trustees

Simply Jaspers

Louisa has volunteered at Windmill Hill City Farm for nearly four years, supporting the Animal Care for Wellbeing programme. After over a decade in the corporate…

world, she changed direction post-pandemic, joining JHF Youth Charity as a youth mentor and now works as Programme Lead. She is grateful to be part of the farm community and has a long-standing love for animals- especially goats!

JAMIE DARWIN

chair of the Finance

sub-group)

Simply Jaspers

Jamie was co-opted onto the Board of Trustees in September 2010, having recently moved to the local area. Before moving to Bristol, he was for four years a trustee...

of a community venture in the Midlands which had a similar ethos and range of services, and he is passionate about the ways that organisations like the City Farm can empower people and help to build stronger communities. In his professional career, Jamie has worked with a wide range of voluntary and public sector organisations – particularly around the involvement of volunteers.

ALICE CLARKE

member of the Infrastructure sub-group

Simply Jaspers

Alice has lived in Bristol since 2009 and is now lucky to be a neighbour to the farm. She is a member of Somewhere Housing Cooperative Association. She has worked...

at Bristol Refugee Rights since 2011, where she has gained extensive experience including volunteer and staff management and adult safeguarding. She is passionate about spaces that bring people together to improve wellbeing and reduce social isolation and has experience of working with many social and environmental justice campaigns and projects.

Susie Dunham

Safeguarding

lead

Simply Jaspers

Susie moved to Bristol in 2005 and has lived in Bedminster since 2016. She first came into contact with the city farm when her son joined the wonderful farm...

nursery. Susie loves the proximity to nature and sense of community that the farm provides for the local area and is privileged to support this to flourish, as a trustee. Susie’s professional experience is in the sustainability field, across public, private and third sectors. She works for UK walking and cycling charity Sustrans as Director of Impact, and is passionate about the role that walking and cycling can play in making places healthier, and people happier.

Gemma
Instrall

Simply Jaspers

Gemma moved to Bristol with her family in 2022. She has worked at the Association of Charitable Foundations since 2019 where she is Director of...

Membership. Gemma’s daughter attends the farm nursery and she frequently visits the farm with her family. Gemma believes that the farm should be a place where everyone feels welcome and that city farms offer both innovative and long-established solutions to some of our biggest challenges including wellbeing, social isolation, and the climate crisis.

Karina
Joseph

Simply Jaspers

Karina is a long-standing resident of Windmill Hill and proud mother of two daughters who attended the WHCF Nursery. She is committed to addressing global...

environmental, health, and development challenges. Karina works as a Bid Manager and Social Value Lead. Before this she worked in decarbonisation in the social housing sector and for an education NGO. Her experience in international development, sustainability and local engagement equips her with valuable insight to guide the charity in its mission to create a positive impact.

Jonathan Lund

member of the Finance

Sub-group

Simply Jaspers

Jonathan has been a resident of South Bristol for over 15 years and currently lives in Knowle. He has a two year old son. Both love the Farm and visit here most...

weeks. He also has a 13 year old and a 10 year old who have many happy memories from the Farm. Jonathan is passionate about the value of community assets such as the Farm and has enjoyed seeing how the Farm has grown and evolved but stayed true to its core mission. Jonathan is a senior finance manager, working in the NHS in Bristol. He applied to become a Trustee because he has reached a point in his professional career where he wants to start giving back some of his time, experience and skills to his local community. Jonathan brings a wealth of experience to the Board and will be providing support to the senior leadership team in areas of business and financial strategy and in the role the Farm plays in supporting and enriching the South Bristol community alongside public services such as NHS and social care. Jonathan is pleased to be joining the Farm at an exciting time in its history with the partnership with Heart of BS13 at Hartcliffe City Farm; and the Bedminster Green and Mead Street developments

Nick
Marshall

Simply Jaspers

Nick spent 15 years as a management accountant/consultant and in operational roles covering finance, business planning, risk management and IT.

He then developed and patented a modular system for the rapid construction of steps and platforms on sloping ground – mainly used on road/rail embankments for maintenance and worksite access. The system gained an innovation award from the Design Council in 2000. The business ceased trading in 2024 due to adverse market conditions. Nick has long-standing interests in renewable energy, climate change and disaster relief. He currently volunteers at the farm for gardening and odd jobs, energized by frequent trips to the café.

Ben
Thomas

Simply Jaspers

Ben is a Senior Associate at the London-based law firm, Bates Wells, which is a market leader in the charity and not-for-profit sectors. Having trained at a big...

corporate law firm, Ben now advises all sorts of charities and non-profits, from small amateur sports clubs all the way through to international charities. He moved to Bedminster in 2024 and Ben’s daughter uses the Farm’s facilities regularly.

Isobel (Diz)
Wales

Simply Jaspers

Isobel has been part of the community for almost 20 years and the farm has been a consistent, joyful and essential part of her family life. Isobel is...

passionate about the value such a wonderful organisation brings to the health and enjoyment of people in the local area and hopes to continue to expand the farm’s reach and support its successful leadership within the community. Passionate about local and global sustainability, and as the Director of Operations at a Bristol and Ottawa based engineering firm, Isobel has spent the last 15 years of her career delivering large carbon reduction projects to global manufacturing organisations.

WELCOMING TO ALL

FOCUSED ON NATURE

WHERE PEOPLE GROW

BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER

FOR THE LONG TERM

If you are interested in understanding how we chose these values, you can read our latest Three Year Strategy (PDF).

AN ORGANISATION

That delivers its mission in several places
Responsive to, and a leader within, its community
Ambitious to grow its reach, influence, and impact
Mindful to operate within its values
Engaged in issues that local people care about
Aiming for excellence in the quality of services and spaces it provides
Financially robust and sustainable providing secure and meaningful employment

A PLACE

A farm for the local community to share
A place that inspires, and reaches out to, all people in our community
A beacon for sustainable living, where people can experience and learn about animals and plants, their environment, and food production
A space for people to visit, enjoy, play, relax and to meet people
A place that is safe and accessible to all in our community
A sanctuary for people and nature

STATEMENT OF INTENT ON EQUALITY, EQUITY, DIVERSCITY AND INCLUSION

Windmill Hill City Farm shares an ambition to create a fairer, safer, accessible and inclusive city where everyone feels they belong, has a voice and an equal opportunity to succeed and thrive. To find our more about this, you can read our EEDI Vision (PDF).

CLIMATE ACTION AND NET-ZERO CARBON AMBITION

The state of the environment has been a central concern for the organisation from its outset. This has encompassed encouraging bio-diversity, nature in the city, food production, farming practices and other aspects of environmental impact through the farm’s history. Our current focus is on achieving a net-zero carbon operation by 2030. To this end we have produced a climate action plan (PDF) picking out actions that will take us towards our goal.

It is primarily a document for internal use. We have decided to publish it for two reasons. First, to help to hold ourselves to account by being transparent; and second, to encourage others to follow suit. The actions we have chosen to prioritise are those we believe we can manage, even with squeezed budgets, limited time and a staff team busy with other priorities.

WHAT OUR COMMUNITY SAYS

"I do not have a garden, so it is a chance to use skills outside and get true in nature. I like socialising with the group and I'm always meeting lots of new people.”

“I wanted to start a new activity which would give me a completely new experience, it is always full of new and affirming little moments which are often highlights in my week."

“I come to the farm to get outside and hang out with the animals. It really helps me to have a focus on something else other than what is happening in my life.”