About Macaulay College
Macaulay College was established in 2010 and is a not-for-profit Social Enterprise that supports adults and young people from the Isle of Lewis and Harris. We are based on a small croft farm on the outskirts of Stornoway in the Isle of Lewis. We support a range of support needs including Down Syndrome, Autism, physical disabilities, those who have mental health conditions, those who have been in the criminal justice system and those who are not in education, training, or employment. Referrals come from Social Work, NHS and Education. We have 24 students and support over 400 hours per week, so we are at capacity. We are open 9.00-3.20, Monday – Friday, and we also offer one-to-one activities for students assessed as requiring it. We have a range of animals at the farm and students take part in a range of activities including animal care, horticulture, arts & crafts, and life skills. We sell our eggs and home-grown jams, chutneys, and craft items at our honesty box and in local shops.
As a not-for-profit company we generate income through the sale of produce such as meat, live animals, jams and chutneys, eggs, and arts & crafts. The students are very active and mornings consist of taking care of the essentials for the animals and the growing areas; feeding, watering, mucking out, processing eggs, counting the lambs and checking the welfare of the animals, as well as spending therapeutic time with the animals e.g. petting the guinea pigs, grooming the donkeys or the Eriskay pony. Many of our students are looked after, some are in care and spend a lot of time indoors but at Macaulay College the students are the ones who help to take care of the animals and the growing areas, giving them responsibility, a focus, and a sense of satisfaction and good physical activity while out doing jobs. Working as a team is a big focus of activities, and break times and lunch times also offer good chances for social interaction and having a chat and a laugh together.
The Polycrub Classic
Living in such a windy and at times inclement place as the Western Isles, covered workspaces are a premium and an essential. Over the last few years, we have worked hard to secure funding to create weather protected areas to support activities at the college, with the aim to increase our productivity and what we can offer students.
In 2023 through the support of the local authority, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, and through the Shared Prosperity Fund, we secured at grant to erect a 4 x 12m Polycrub to increase our growing areas, increase our fruit bushes and to improve the pathway down to it. Our existing 2 polytunnels were full of fruit bushes and our aim was to increase fruit and vegetable growing to produce even more jams and chutneys, to increase income generation and sustainability, and to create another much-needed sheltered workspace. Due to bird flu protection zones, one of our polytunnels had to be used to house our hens for many months each year to protect them against bird flu, but this was having a detrimental effect on the horticultural activities.
The new horticultural Polycrub has been an amazing addition to our work areas. It offers a sheltered and pleasant environment to work in, and plenty of space to expand our growing. Designed with accessibility in mind, it is easy to enter, and the cement floor makes it a dry and very inviting to work in. We have additional seats in it which makes it comfortable. The height and layout design was recommended by a local Polycrub owner who is a wheelchair user, so students who struggle bending or working at ground level can sit alongside the beds to tend to them. Improvements have been made with a solar watering system, lights, a fan and a sound system – so as you imagine it’s a popular area!
Through this new Polycrub we have increased our productivity. We are growing produce we have not grown before and are able to extend the season.
The Polycrub Opyl
In 2024 we secured funding from the Scottish Government through the Outer Hebrides Community Lead Local Development (OH CLLD) for a 4m Polycrub Opyl and fencing to house our flock to protect them from the risk of Bird Flu. This Polycrub has been of huge benefit to the college - not only does it create a light filled large space for the flock, it also allows a whole team to work in the area at one time.
Previously our coop was so small you could only fit one person in it at a time, or 2 at a push, and it was dark and uninviting. A skilled staff member has now linked the old coop with a covered area that joins to the Polycrub Opyl, giving us 4 times as much covered space. It has allowed us to successfully raise turkey chicks from eggs for the first time, as there was space to keep hens and turkeys separate. We have increased our whole flock and brought in new varieties, which has increased our egg production. The students who were previously too nervous to be in with the hens are now building on their confidence and are now in cleaning them out and feeding them - some even feeding them directly from their hand! The flock and the team can be protected should further outbreaks of bird flu happen – a particular concern due to the vulnerable health of some of our students.
It has given us another sheltered and bright workspace, and it is much easier to clean given its cement floor. Both the Polycrub and the Polycrub Opyl allow students to be out and active whatever the weather. The mental health benefits of physical work, being active and engaged in meaningful activities and the benefits of fresh air and daylight are well documented, and the Polycrubs have enabled our team to do more of this every day.
Our volunteer was asked ‘What is good about the Polycrub Opyl?’
‘There is more space and light and a chance to hang out with the hens whatever the weather. Students with less confidence to enter the enclosure will now come in. I was terrified of turkeys but now I will hand feed & pet them with gloves on. I can catch hold of a chicken for someone who finds that hard, and then they get to pet it. In the future I want to be a hard-core crofter and coming here has given me lots of experience to do so.’
Benefits of the Polycrubs
Not only has Macaulay College benefitted from the Polycrubs we had secured funding for, Polycrub also generously donated an amazing Peerie Polly to us that is a wonderful and versatile space on the farm that doubles as break space, activity space, chill out spot and a great space for drying a wet jacket! As an organisation that is at capacity; space for people to be in, away from the very busy college building are highly valuable. The Polycrub team are also incredibly helpful and good to deal with, as are their local agents AMK.
Some examples of the key benefits of the Polycrubs are;
- A student who normally would not come into the polytunnel area now comes to work in the Polycrub as there is no longer a muddy pathway leading there, and his feet are kept dry and clean inside on the cement floor.
- Several students, who sometimes need some quiet time, have started to use the Polycrub as it is so pleasant to sit in.
- A young secondary school volunteer who is interested in crofting has gained knowledge and horticultural experience from her on-going work with teams in the Polycrub. The volunteer and the staff member who heads up the work in the Polycrub are experimenting with unusual fruit and veg to grow there. She has become so inspired that she is now doing this at home too. She records her activities in a diary to evidence the experience she is gaining for future endeavours.
They really have been a transformational addition to activities at the college, as documented in the Inspire Scotland Film.
This is available to view on the Scottish Rural Network.
You can also find out more about Macaulay College and their fantastic work on their website.
