Skyridge is owned and run by Paula and Rob McMillan and provides Hatherleigh school with an amazing extra resource Skyridge is an off-grid small holding of 30 acres, great for biodiversity with many different habitats including river, woodland, pastures and grassing paddocks. They mainly breed sheep but also have pygmy goats, chickens, ponies and calves. When the students come , they use all of the facilities and animals to educate them about the environment but also access the school curriculum in alternative ways. 

The children have been to Skyridge during lambing season and have bottle fed orphan lambs and calves, Animal care also includes, grooming and walking the 2 Shetland ponies, Pip and Ace. They do egg hunts, as the chickens are free-range, with a horsebox as their home. The children use the ponds and river to do pond dipping and have seen many tadpoles and their development into frogs. Sometimes their jobs include mucking out and putting down clean hay and straw. They might have the opportunity of planting in the poly tunnel, where Skyridge grow seasonal fruits, vegetables and flowers – some of the produce planted and grown by our children is harvested and brought back to school to be cooked or shared. Children also get to witness the business side, calculating the proportion of food to body weight, checking on weight gain and nutritional requirements for the animals. 

29th March