Hazel Hoskin and her family have been farming at Maiden Castle Farm just outside Dorchester for 35 years, running beef, sheep and arable enterprises as well as growing wheat, barley, grass and forage maize.
Hazel decided to grow a sunflower trail in 2021 to mark the 18th birthday of her eldest son Thomas, who was born prematurely at just 26 weeks and spent the first few months of his life being cared for in the Special Care Baby Unit at Dorset County Hospital.
Giving something back
Wanting to give something back after a gruelling few years for the NHS, including battling coronavirus, Hazel opened the sunflower trail to the public to raise money for the hospital and it has proved so successful she has kept it going.
Over the last three years, Hazel has raised almost £47,000 for charity and is looking to smash the £50,000 barrier with this year’s trail, which opened on August 9.
Hazel said: “Coming out of lockdown in 2021 made me re-evaluate everything and I wanted to do something to connect with the general public and to raise money for charity.
“We planted a field of sunflowers and cut out two trails – one spelt out Love and the other spelt out Life if you looked at it from above – and asked members of the public to pay £5 each to enter the trails.
It was phenomenal
“The sunflower trail took off a lot more than I ever imagined – in the first year, I thought we might raise a couple of thousand pounds, but we actually raised just under £25,000. It was phenomenal, people just loved it!
“This year, we were a week late getting the sunflower seeds drilled because of the rain and then it rained constantly until last week when the sunshine came out and the sunflowers responded.
“Through our sunflower trail, we’ve created a real link with the community because we are doing something to help the hospital.”
Hazel Hoskin
“There’s something about sunflowers that is just uplifting and what is so nice about the trail is that there’s very little negativity because as soon as you arrive at the gate and see a field of sunflowers, it’s very hard to feel negative!
“You’re outside whatever the weather – last year, we had practically horizontal rain and people were still turning up and saying it was lovely.”
Hazel said while people got a lot of pleasure from the trail, it was also brilliant for wildlife, attracting pollinators to help enrich biodiversity on farm.
A community link
“We raised money for the Special Care Unit in the first year and then for the hospital’s children’s department in the second year as well as for a hospital in Ukraine so we could send supplies to them thanks to their link with Dorset County Hospital” she said.
“We went back to raising money for the Special Care Unit again in the third year because my second son, who was also born prematurely, turned 18 and this year we are raising money for Dorset County Hospital’s Emergency and Critical Care Unit that is currently being built.
“Through our sunflower trail, we’ve created a real link with the community because we are doing something to help the hospital which is so crucial to everyone in Dorchester and it has created a real positive feeling between farmers and the general public.
“We are unique compared to a lot of farms where we are as we’re only a few minutes from the town and the sunflower trails have made a real impression and are just something really positive we are doing with our local community.”