The John Burns Foundation

17/07/2025

🌟 Discover What We Do at the John Burns Foundation 🌟

In April 2022, something amazing began…
Thanks to National Lottery Funding, we opened the doors to our fully equipped, fully adaptable educational kitchen at the John Burns Center! 🎉

Our mission?
To create a welcoming space where people of all ages and abilities can learn to cook healthy, affordable meals from scratch using fresh ingredients, often straight from our community garden 🌿🥕.

Since opening, Food for Thought has:
🧑‍🌾Offered hands-on experience in our community garden
👩‍👧 Brought families together through intergenerational cooking
🧑‍🍳 Helped children and young people build skills for the future
🏠 Supported individuals on their journey to independent living
🥕 Highlighted the importance of why fresh, local food matters — "from garden to plate"

💬 Success Story Spotlight
One participant, a young adult with learning difficulties, joined our sessions with limited confidence in the kitchen. Over several weeks, they learned to plan meals, cook independently, and even started helping their family prepare dinners at home. Their newfound confidence has inspired them to explore volunteering opportunities within the John Burns Foundation. 🌟

It’s more than just cooking — it’s about confidence, connection, and community 💚

15/07/2025

🎉 School’s nearly out! 🎉

As the summer holidays approach 🌞, we’re celebrating another amazing year of Burns By Your Side—where reading dogs 🐶 help children grow in confidence, enjoy stories, and discover the joy of reading 📚✨.

These gentle, four-legged friends have brought so much magic into schools this year, and we couldn’t be prouder of the difference they make.

Wishing everyone a happy, sunny summer 🌻—and a well-earned rest for our superstar pups too! 🐾😎

11/07/2025

Myself, Brandon, Wayne, Aron, Steve, Wayne, Brendan, Simon D, Simon H, Christian, Gareth, Kate, Bridget and Chris went in the John Burns Foundation mini bus on a road trip to Folly Farm in Pembrokeshire to help the Conversation Manager Jack and some of the staff to do some work.

In the morning, everyone in the group helped Jack to build and create out of different types of branches such as willow a 'Dead Hedge' in the nature trail area. Building a dead hedge out of different types of branches is really excellent and good for different creatures such as hedgehogs to hide in.
As well as helping to build and create a dead hedge, myself and members of the group assisted Jack in preparing the food for the park's giraffes to eat.
The food that members of the group made for the giraffes was made out of willow leaves and branches cut from the onsite willow plantation.

Everyone in the group stopped on the grass to have lunch.

In the afternoon everyone in the group including myself, Brandon, Christian and Gareth went back in the mini bus to drive over to the main park area to have a look around.
Some of the animals that we saw whilst on our walk around were penguins, lions, monkeys, tapirs, meerkats, deer and rhinos.

As well as having a look at some of the animals we witnessed Jack feeding the giraffes the food that was prepared earlier in the day. Seeing the giraffes being fed the food that we made was amazing to watch.

Before heading home, some of us including myself, Brandon, Simon H, Chris, Bridget and Aaron bought ice cream or a drink from the shop.

A BIG Thank you on behalf of the Growing Together group at the John Burns Foundation goes to Jack and all the staff at Folly Farm Adventure Park and Zoo for having us today.

07/07/2025

This is what the Growing Together group did this week at the John Burns Centre

Myself, Brendan and Christian went in the gator with Bridget to help her move a flock of sheep from one field to another field. Reason why this is done, is so that the flock of sheep have plenty of grass to eat.
Whilst we were doing that, Steve, Antonia, Wayne, Brandon, Gareth. Simon H and Aaron helped Chris to renovate and refurbish the main pathway leading up to the Dog Park.

Myself, Brendan, Christian and Bridget joined them once we finished the sheep herding.

Whilst we were busy outside, Dai and Simon D stayed behind at the John Burns Centre to do some cooking in the kitchen with Kate.
This time they cooked home made cheese and potato pie with homemade pasta, salad, and salad dressing.
For pudding they cooked chocolate courgette cake with cream or ice cream.

Once everyone outside completed their jobs for the morning, they all went back to the workshop to have lunch.

Everyone really enjoyed their lunch and pudding very much.

During the lunch break, Chris, Kate and Bridget had a chat to us all about the trip to Folly Farm next week.

After food, Dai and Simon D helped Kate in the kitchen to wash clean and dry up.
Whilst Dai and Simon D were busy helping Kate to wash, dry and clean up, the rest of the group including myself, Brandon, Wayne, Brendan, Chrstian, Gareth, Steve, Aaron and Antoina went back outside with Chris and Bridget to finish off the renovation work on the path we did this morning.

Everyone in the group worked really together as a team to make the path.

Before going home, some of the group had the chance to take home with them some freshly picked vegetables such as potatoes.

All in all a very busy but productive day at the John Burns Centre this week for the Growing Together group

07/07/2025

Check this out ⬇️⬇️⬇️

📍 Trinty Methodist Church, Bridge Street, Kidwelly SA17 4UU

🗓 Saturday 26th July - Saturday 9th August

01/07/2025

We are thrilled to announce TWO of our wonderful Burns By Your Side teams have reached the final for School Dog Award of the Year with the incredible National School Dog Alliance - NSDA ✨

Both Dennis from Ysgol Heol Goffa, Llanelli and Fred from Tenby Church in Wales VC Primary School will be making their way to Westminster this Thursday to attend the award ceremony and we would like to take this opportunity to wish them both the very best of luck 🤩🥳🤞

We are beyond proud of all our Burns By Your Side Volunteer Teams and are thrilled to see these guys getting the recognition they deserve ❤️🐾❤️

Keep a eye out for our updates on Thursday as we celebrate these incredible teams in London 👀🏆🎖

27/06/2025

The Growing Together Group had a busy day yesterday, where we harvested onions and potatoes. The potatoes were absolutely massive so we had some beautiful stuffed jacket potatoes for lunch. We also used kale, kohl rabi, onions, carrots and herbs all from the garden for our lunch as well. Christian made a lovely honey, yoghurt and granola with berries for dessert or otherwise known as 'Christians yoghurt parfait'
We mowed quite a bit of the vegetable gardens and weeded and fed the plants in the polytunnel. A lot of our group members were away on holiday this week with the Llannelli Warriors rugby team at the mixed ability rugby world cup so want to wish them lots of luck at the tournament and a safe journey back.

20/06/2025

This is what the Growing Together did at the John Burns Centre this week.

We introduced ourselves to a new member of the group Aaron who will be joining us every Thursday from now on.
Myself, Gareth and Lynda did some cooking in the kitchen. This week we cooked home made beetroot burgers, homemade cauliflower cheese, with broad bean salad, home made coleslaw, and Hasselback potatoes.

Myself and Gareth helped to make the broad bean salad,, coleslaw, and the cauliflower cheese, whilst Lynda made the potatoes and the beetroot burgers.

I also helped to prepare the trolley to put the food on.

Whilst myself, Gareth and Lynda were busy in the kitchen cooking this weeks lunch, Simon D, Simon H, Wayne,Brendan, Steve and Aaron went outside in the hot weather with Bridget to do lots of jobs.
Some of the jobs that they did outside with Bridget were putting lots of manure on the raised beds and planters. watering all the hanging baskets, planting lots of new seeds in the ground and tidying up.

Once everyone outside completed their work for the morning, they all went back to the workshop to have lunch.

Everyone in the group really enjoyed their lunch very much.

After lunch, myself, Gareth and Simon D helped Lynda in the kitchen to wash, dry, and clean up.
The rest of the group including Simon H, Steve, Wayne and Brendan went hack outside in the hot weather with Bridget to plant brussel sprouts and pick potatoes for everyone to take home.

Due to the hot weather, the group including myself and Gareth finished early.

Thank you Rory despite the very hot weather we managed to get a lot of work done and I have to say the lunch was lovely and everything came from the garden now that everything is growing quickly.
Also, a huge thank you to Lynda for coming back to help us in the kitchen and giving us a superb feast your a 🌟!!

18/06/2025

16/06/2025