our charity
It is estimated that up to 1.5 million people in the UK have a learning disability. In Wiltshire, young people with learning disabilities are taught at special needs schools and mainstream schools with special resources. When they are 16 they can move to specialist colleges such as Fairfield College in Dilton Marsh or other colleges with specialist facilities. Once they leave these specialist environments there is often nowhere locally where they can continue to learn the skills to work in a structured way.
OUR HISTORY
In the late 1990’s, parents of young adults with learning disabilities realised the difficulty presented by the absence of facilities and decided to form their own charity to provide a working occupation for their children and others like them. In 2000 a Charitable Limited Company was formed and went on to become a registered charity in the same year. It took six years of dedicated fundraising to start the project but on 27th May 2006 the Cafe was officially opened.
A year later the charity opened a small Animal Park, which had chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits and goats along with a miniature Shetland pony. The charity increased the number of animals and introduced children’s play areas and a calendar of special events, and soon welcomed over 700 visitors a week.
In 2017, The Hope Nature Centre approached Fairfield College, a charity with similar objectives in working to support young people with learning disabilities, to formally merge to form a single charity. The merger took place on 1st October 2018 and operates under Fairfield Trust and continues to provide training opportunities for young adults with learning difficulties. Incorporating both Fairfield College and Hope Nature Centre, the Fairfield Trust is registered under charity number 273924. In early 2023, Hope Nature Centre changed it’s name to Fairfield Animal Centre to better reflect the way in which it had become part of the Fairfield Trust.
If you would like to donate to the Fairfield Trust, you can donate online or send us a cheque. If you wish to donate by Cheque, please make this our to Fairfield Trust, 43 High Street, Dilton Marsh, Westbury, Wiltshire, BA13 4DL
ANIMAL PARK
Our Animal Park is set in 15 acres of Southwick Country Park. Come and visit our animals including; Goats, Sheep, Pigs, Donkeys, Alpaca and much more. Don’t miss our awesome play areas too!
UPCOMING EVENTS
We host a whole range of events in our Animal Park throughout the year. From Fun Days to unique animal experiences and festive Christmas fun, there is always something exciting happening.
