Profile information
Host rating
100 %
Reply rate
98.7 %
Usually responds within 3 days
Feedback
26
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Details
Description
INTRODUCTION:
Come to our unusual garden in rural Wiltshire. It's a registered charity to advance education in horticulture & conservation. I have hosted over 29 students from 12 countries.
It's a friendly, mellow, rural atmosphere: to explore England, learn skills and enrich your outlook. Volunteer activities include: horticulture, d.i.y., wildlife, landscaping, conservation, maintaining: fish pond & wetland, herbs/vegetable/fruit areas. No previous experience required.
Residential placements for male students age 18-28 (female accommodation dependent on local host families). You can also be flexible in your timetable to have long weekends off for excursions.
WHAT WE DO:
Receive visiting groups; teach horticulture & conservation; make videos; skill training for the unemployed, resource for adults with learning difficulties.
Links to 7 British universities for student conservation research articles, and for making videos.
Large LIBRARY: on wildlife, conservation, art, history, horticulture, heritage, landscape design etc.
SPORTS: Gymnasium (twin weight stack/fixed weight/3 seating position system + free weights). Good countryside for jogging. Use of a bicycle.
VILLAGE FACILITIES:
General store, post-office, village hall, 2 pubs, church, golf resort, woodcarving club, football club, river, Bowood House & Gardens.
Chippenham (8minutes by bus) has:
night club; lots of pubs; good range of shops and sports facilities.
Calne (2 minutes by bus) has: skateboard/bmx park; good restaurants; motor museum, volley ball.
PLACES TO VISIT NEARBY: Major attractions include: Stonehenge; Roman Bath; Bristol; Malmesbury; Longleat House; Lacock Abbey; Salisbury Cathedral; Avebury Stone Circles; Bowood House & Gardens; Cotswold Water Park; Somerset coast; South Wales castles & mountains.
Railway station (direct from London) is Chippenham. Bath= 11 minutes by train, Bristol= 23mns. Nearest airport : Bristol.
Types of help and learning opportunities
Charity Work
Art Projects
Language practice
Help with Eco Projects
Elderly Companionship
Gardening
DIY and building projects
Creating/ Cooking family meals
Help around the house
General Maintenance
Help with Computers/ Internet
UN sustainablity goals this host is trying to achieve
Cultural exchange and learning opportunities
Gaining a wide range of skills & insights in horticulture, landscaping, garden crafts, art & design.
Improving self reliance, initiative, confidence.
Improve spoken and written English.
Developing an understanding of English heritage, traditions, history, society.
Explore this part of England and its wide range of historical and cultural attractions.
Opportunity to interact with the local community and events, incl the church, sports clubs, and wood carving club.
Join training sessions with local football, volleyball, basketball clubs.
YOUR HOST:
Stephen is a gardener/
designer/conservationist who created a registered charity. He has made an unusual garden from a field.
He has written many hundreds of articles on: history, heritage, design, gardening, conservation, wildlife, climate change, and education. He is now writing a series books on horticulture, conservation, and well-being.
Registered charity
This host is a registered charity in the UK and is looking for help with their charity project.
Help
1. Gardening- all types.
2. Wildlife/conservation.
3. DIY/landscaping.
4. Repairs & maintenance
5. Digital platforms/social media
6. Video making & photography.
7. Heritage excursions.
8. Sports opportunities (we can offer you our links to local sports clubs e.g. football/volleyball,basketball)
9. English language polishing.
ALL our work is charitable & educational and not-for profit. We do not employ workers. We seek to enhance individual life skills & experience and improve international friendship.
Application process includes receiving our student documents (student welfare, safeguarding, local facilities/guides, health & safety, etc). You can also chat on Whatsapp to get to know more before you make a decision.
VISAS:
For standard tourist UK entry to stay with us (as a registered UK charity) for 30 days you do not need a visa.
Languages spoken
English: Fluent
Accommodation
Accommodation is in a traditional Englishrural house (built 1885).
Simple vegetarian meals 3 times a day (milk,cheese,eggs are used) Tea/coffee breaks during the day.
BEDROOM: Single/private. Wifi. Small table. Big window.
OTHER: There is a cat. Large fish pond in garden + aquarium in house.
No smoking household. Low energy usage & ecological living. Organic gardening.
You can also use the acoustic guitar, and bicycle. Very good collection of contemporary and classical music, films, books, Satellite tv + Netflix. Unlimited wifi/internet.
Nice big fully equipped summer/study house & additional library at bottom of garden. Vegetable & salad & fruit gardens.
What else ...
Bus from Chippenham/Calne/Swindon stops outside the house every 20 minutes. At Chippenham you can get a bus to many other places; or use the main-line railway direct to: London, Bristol, Oxford, Wales and all over England.
Many interesting walks and lovely English countryside with views of the Avon Vales and the Wessex Downs, & River Marden Valley.
The famous Bowood House & Gardens (and its acclaimed Golf Resort) is a 12mns walk away.
Locally there is also:
Fishing. Cycling. Jogging. Basketball. Volley-ball. Tennis. Museums. Golf. Bmx bike & skateboarding park. Cycle Track Chippenham to Calne. Several Football pitches. Football clubs. Swimming. Friendly church. Walking groups. Wood-carving club in the village.
If you have any particular hobbies/interests we will try to find connections/outlets for you.
A little more information
Internet access
Limited internet access
We have pets
We are smokers
Can host families
Can host digital nomads
There is a garden room for the student to use for online studies in complete privacy. It has a desk and chair, table lamp, wifi access, day bed etc.
How many Workawayers can stay?
One
Hours expected
Timetable is flexible. Allow yourself 4 hours Mondays to Friday.
Feedback (11)
Amongst other things he was of immense support taking up an old wood decking, transporting sand, and laying in porcelain… read more
Since my brother had already been with him as a workawayer, I knew Stephen beforehand, which made life easier together and we quickly… read more
He undertook many excursions and by reorganising the… read more
Stephens garden is one of the finest I've seen, and working in the garden didn't really feel… read more
Photos
Feedback
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Accuracy of profile:
(5.0)
Cultural exchange:
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Communication:
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Amongst other things he was of immense support taking up an old wood decking, transporting sand, and laying in porcelain… read more
Since my brother had already been with him as a workawayer, I knew Stephen beforehand, which made life easier together and we quickly… read more
He undertook many excursions and by reorganising the… read more
Stephens garden is one of the finest I've seen, and working in the garden didn't really feel… read more
WORK
Work was usually only for a couple of hours a day on weekdays and involved what you would expect from Stephen’s listing: helping out in the garden (digging out old roots, planting new plants, etc.) and… read more
Jonathan is very polite, sociable and amiable and has respect for the household and the house rules. He fitted… read more
He got to know the area… read more
I have enjoyed my time here sooo much. I was able to come down, sort out my thoughts, and prepare for the coming studies. Derry Hill is very small and cozy which can be a welcome change to a city life. The area is perfect for walks, hikes or to go jogging as I did… read more
And a superb colour sense: he suggested improvement to all the arbours by painting the trellis sections in different/complementary colours then carefully painting them. I was surprised and delighted by his… read more
I liked to tell him that he didn’t have the hang of hosting workaways: Instead of making them… read more
He has excellent skills at and passion for woodwork. He made five… read more
He was my new host!
He made me feel very welcomed and at ease. That was our first meet.
After I was getting to know about him. He was garden-lover. He was not only knowledgeable but also tried to give me understanding for the future.
His purpose is to live with nature and other… read more
He enjoys being able to converse as often as… read more
with Stephen for 6 weeks.
It has been a big new experience to help Stephen in his garden and
with his charity. Stephen has a terrific personality, so living with him for those 6
weeks was wonderful.
He has such a great humour, so we were making jokes all the time... It
was… read more
Thank you very much for your help, your host and your joy ! You were a sunshine wich crossed the clouds and the snow this winter !
He worked very hard and diligently in the garden and understood new tasks very quickly. Theo… read more
Stephen is such a great guy. He will take care of you. The Garden is beautiful and will continue to build popularity in the community as a place to visit. I truly had all the time I needed to do the things… read more
Once a task is explained to him he can be left to get on with it unsupervised, make a good job of it and cleans up afterwards. He is… read more
He integrated quickly and very well into the life and routine of the house and the work of the Trust. He is good company, gentle, pleasant and courteous. We found him to be very homely and good natured. At work he was diligent and… read more
He was very intressted in my well beeing and as he knows a lot about history I learned a lot about the English history and… read more
He quickly saw possibilities for improvements to the garden and also created proposals for future development. He has a sharp eye to quickly assess a given situation or job to both carry out a task and to see potential for development.
David very quicly… read more
