Care farming

Effectiveness

Working on a care farm can help adult offenders gain new skills. In nineteenth century Scotland, teaching farming skills to young offenders was tried as a means of reducing recidivism and promoting honest labour. The farm school at Riddrie in the period 1866-68 taught 158 boys. Of these, 64 were subsequently described as "doing well" (ie keeping out of a life of crime). The Riddrie experiment ended due to unrelated costs issues in 1871. More studies on care farming are desirable to determine whether it can be an alternative and adjuvant therapy for people with certain mental illnesses (such as anxiety or depression).

Care farming can be beneficial for the animals on the farm. For example, greater exposure to humans has the potential to reduce some of the stresses caused by typical agricultural practices. Having more people see the animals may increase the detection of parasites or other animal health issues.

History

Benjamin Rush (1746–1813) published 5 books in a series of Medical Inquiries and Observations, the last being concerned with The Diseases of The Mind (1812). In this volume, the practice of horticulture is mentioned twice.

References

References

1. "Social Farms & Gardens |".
2. CareFarmingScotland.org.uk
3. (2019). "Care farming: Rehabilitation or punishment? A qualitative exploration of the use of care farming within community orders.". Health Place.
4. National Care Farming Initiative (UK)
5. (1870). "Reports from Commissioners". Ordered to be printed.
6. See generally under [[Riddrie]], Reformatory at Riddrie Farm
7. (December 2019). "The impact of care farms on quality of life, depression and anxiety among different population groups: A systematic review". Campbell Systematic Reviews.
8. (2019). "What's in it for the animals? Symbiotically considering 'therapeutic' human-animal relations within spaces and practices of care farming.". Med Humanit.
9. "Archived copy".