IT MIGHT be a bit of an understatement to say that Lynne Duffy leads a busy life. When the mother of five children is not carrying out her duties as a Worcestershire County Councillor and Wychavon District Councillor, she slips in the running of a care farm just outside Droitwich.

The Gloverspiece Minifarm, a charity, was set up five years ago on an 11 acre site owned by Lynne’s husband Philip where the couple kept a few ponies for their children when they were young. Their youngest child is now 15 and just two are still at school while the other three are working.

Lynne, chairman for the Children’s and Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny Panel of the county council and Wychavon’s former chairman and now deputy leader and Portfolio Holder for Resources, said: “I set it up as a charity five years ago. We had some land because I had a few ponies for my children but there was nothing on the land.

“I have a son with Asperger’s Syndrome and a daughter with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). I realised that animals play a big part in calming them down. They seem to really relate to animals.

“My friend Nikki Hunt, who is a trustee of the charity, has a son who is autistic. We could both see the benefit of what animals did to help the kids.

“In 2009 I was elected as a county councillor and went to a presentation by Care Farming West Midlands. We were also being given quite a few rescue animals which we were rehabilitating.”

Lynne, who is also an accountant, could see how the site and animals could offer therapeutic benefits to a range of local people and has secured £500,000 in funding since it began. “I spend most of my working time writing bids. We have so far secured half a million pounds in funding. It has taken my life off on a completely different tack. It is very different from council work.”

In the past five years the care farm has grown to include about 150 rescue animals – everything from guinea pigs and chinchillas to alpacas and a gentle giant of a shire horse - and more land. All the animals have names and are handled as much as possible to make them people-friendly.

It also employs staff and has around 30 volunteers and once the animals are rehabilitated, they become the basis of the animal therapy available to clients visiting the farm.

“We have about 150 animals. The only thing we don’t have is a cow. We have more land, seven employees and 30 volunteers. Some of the staff are qualified in animal care and some in caring for people,” said Lynne.

The care farm provides a supervised structured programme of farming related activities for people with learning disabilities, autism and mental health issues as well as project work for nurseries, schools and colleges.

Lynne, aged 48, said: “We have some adults with autism and learning disabilities. They have been coming for two or three years. I know they like it.”

Bev Chubb, assistant manager who has experience of working in sheltered housing schemes, said “When this job came up it was my dream to work with animals and still work with the client group. It is very rewarding to see the clients go home with a smile on their faces.”

The care farm can also be used by after school clubs and holiday clubs and has a farm animal roadshow where a selection of friendly animals are taken to events like fetes, fayres and open days.

The farm operates from the principle of harnessing the therapeutic benefits of working with the land, nature and animals.

There are a range of activities for clients like feeding pigs, collecting eggs, animal care, DIY and maintenance and work experience packages. It is also an approved centre for ABC Awards in animal care and offers a range of accredited qualifications from entry level to full level three diploma – many are purely practical and suit those who don’t like paperwork.

School leavers Becky Jones and Emily Lowe were on the farm gaining work experience before going onto courses at Pershore College.

Gloverspiece Minifarm now offers City and Guilds qualifications in Animal Welfare, Equine Studies and Hospitality.

Lynne added that the farm has also taken young offenders who go along with one-to-one support workers and last year the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner Bill Longmore gave a grant of £5,000 to support the farm’s young offender initiative for children and teenagers in danger of being excluded from school.

The money has part-funded a new building for people with a disability, a cooking area, classroom, tack room, feed store and offices as well as space for animals in the future.

Lynne explained: “The young offender comes out to us with their support worker and they are with their support worker and we find them jobs to do. Some will be involved in animal care like mucking out or feeding animals. Others do other jobs around the farm like fencing maintenance.

“When it comes to the offenders we hope we never see them again. We don’t really get any feedback apart from getting the same support workers coming back time and time again.

“From what we gather, it does help the people who come here. There are some who do not want to be here and then there are others who do get into it.”

Some offenders have gone on to study Animal Care at Pershore College after a spell at the care farm.

The care farm has also just secured a £3,200 grant from the Get Wychavon Active Fund to run pony agility classes for adults. “We have a number of ponies in the field getting fat and we thought there could be people who would like to do pony agility classes but don’t have their own ponies,” said Lynne.

The farm is open seven days a week from 9am to 3pm and has clients from all over Worcestershire. And apart from Lynne’s tireless efforts in managing the scheme her husband, a tool manager, chips in at the weekend with valuable maintenance work as do their children. Sons George and Charlie were both involved when I took my tour. It’s a real family affair.

Lynne added they are always on the lookout for more volunteers. Anyone interested in joining the team or wanting more information about Gloverpiece Minifarm can visit www.gloverspieceminifarm.co.uk/, email gloverspiece@gmail.com or call Lynne on 07918026036.