ONE MAN WENT TO MO
GO OUTDOORS
Strawberry Fields | Five Acres | Growing Skills | Growing Futures
The Vale of Evesham | Worcestershire | Heart of the Midlands
Twelve months. Twelve workshops. One shared purpose.
Go outdoors. Grow skills. Build connections. Create opportunities.
— Welcome to Go Outdoors
ONE MAN WENT TO MO — GO OUTDOORS is a proposed community, horticultural and business-development initiative designed to bring people together through outdoor activity, practical learning and enterprise.
At the heart of the vision is Strawberry Fields: a proposed five-acre agricultural project exploring the commercial production of strawberries for export.
The idea is to connect the outdoors with opportunity. By exploring how strawberries are grown, harvested, prepared and transported to market, participants could learn about horticulture, food production, teamwork, business planning and the value of working together.
Alongside this agricultural ambition, ONE MAN WENT TO MO promotes men’s health awareness and the importance of conversation, connection and appropriate support.
Our guiding principles are simple: people before profit, practical learning before promises, and careful planning before investment
ABOUT — Why Go Outdoors?
The outdoors offers opportunities to learn through experience. Planting, growing, maintaining land and working as a team can help people develop practical knowledge while building confidence and connections.
GO OUTDOORS is intended to create a welcoming environment where participants can explore new interests, develop skills and contribute to a shared project.
It is not necessary to be an experienced gardener, farmer or business owner. The proposed programme would begin with learning, observation and practical introductions, progressing towards more specialised activities where suitable supervision and expertise are available.
The project would also encourage participants to think about where food comes from, how agricultural businesses operate and what it takes to bring a perishable product from a field to a customer.
Activities would be planned around the seasons, weather, available facilities and the needs of participants. Access to land, tools, equipment and growing areas would be confirmed before any sessions were advertised.
STRAWBERRY FIELDS —
THE FIVE-ACRE VISION
Strawberry Fields is the proposed agricultural enterprise at the centre of GO OUTDOORS.
The ambition is to investigate whether a five-acre site could support commercially viable strawberry production, including potential sales to overseas markets.
Five acres is a starting point for planning, not a guarantee of production volume or profit. The usable growing area would depend on site access, soil conditions, drainage, water supply, infrastructure, cultivation methods and the space required for safe working, storage and transport.
The first step would be a feasibility study undertaken with appropriate horticultural and business expertise.
This would assess land suitability, potential varieties, production systems, seasonal conditions, investment requirements, labour, water management, crop protection, equipment and likely routes to market.
The business plan would also need to consider packaging, refrigeration, transport, insurance, staffing, wastage and the costs of meeting customer specifications.
The purpose is to establish what is realistic before significant money is committed.
Growing strawberries for export involves an entire supply chain, not simply planting and picking fruit.
Growing: Select suitable varieties and production methods with specialist advice. Plan planting, irrigation, crop monitoring and seasonal labour.
Harvesting: Develop procedures for picking fruit carefully, handling it hygienically and minimising damage.
Grading and packing: Investigate quality standards, packaging requirements, product identification and traceability.
Storage and transport: Explore suitable cooling facilities, storage arrangements and transport systems to protect fruit quality.
Finding customers: Research potential wholesalers, retailers, distributors and overseas buyers. Understand their product specifications, delivery schedules and commercial terms.
Export readiness: Confirm the rules applying to the intended destination, including relevant customs, food-safety, plant-health and documentation requirements.
Strawberries are perishable, so the time between harvesting and delivery is a significant business consideration. A viable export plan would need to account for freshness, transport time, temperature management and customer demand.
No export market, buyer, crop yield or financial return would be promised until it had been properly investigated and confirmed.
APPRENTICESHIPS — LEARNING BY DOING
GO OUTDOORS would explore apprenticeship and training opportunities linked to horticulture, agriculture, food production and enterprise.
Potential learning areas include:
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Soil preparation and planting.
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Understanding plant growth and seasonal crop care.
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Responsible water use and land management.
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Identifying crop problems and reporting concerns.
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Safe handling of tools and equipment.
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Harvesting and quality control.
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Food hygiene, grading and traceability.
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Stock control and basic record keeping.
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Teamwork, communication and workplace responsibility.
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Business costs, pricing and customer service.
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Packaging, distribution and export preparation.
Learning opportunities would be matched to participants’ ages, experience, abilities and circumstances. Practical work would require appropriate supervision, safety procedures, protective equipment and risk assessments.
Where a formal apprenticeship is intended, the project would need an eligible employer and an approved training provider to establish the appropriate occupational standard, training plan, funding, assessment and employment arrangements.
Until these details are confirmed, the apprenticeship element remains a proposal. The project would not advertise accredited qualifications, guaranteed jobs or funded training places without the necessary arrangements in place.
FOUR SEASONS OUTDOORS
The programme would follow a Four Seasons approach, recognising that horticulture requires planning throughout the year.
SPRING — GROW
Prepare for the growing season. Assess the site, plan planting, introduce participants to soil and plant care, and establish safe working practices.
SUMMER — CONNECT
Monitor crop development, maintain growing areas and explore harvesting, grading and quality management where the crop and facilities allow.
AUTUMN — BUILD
Review the growing season, calculate costs, assess performance and identify improvements. Explore customer requirements and business opportunities.
WINTER — REFLECT
Evaluate what has been learned, research future markets, review training needs and prepare the next seasonal plan.
Actual activities and dates would depend on the growing system, weather, strawberry varieties and the confirmed operating arrangements.