Country Watch Eden’s official logo has officially been unveiled – and was designed by two creative pupils from Appleby Grammar School.
Overall winners Hamish Donnelly and Sasha Parkin from the school’s Year 7 had their two logos amalgamated to create the eventual image which will be used on all Country Watch Eden merchandise.
Country Watch Eden is an NFU and Cumbria police led rural crime prevention initiative which primarily aims to tackle the increasing problem of sheep theft in eastern Cumbria – a crime Appleby NFU group secretary Amanda Wallbank says devastates her farming members both financially and emotionally.
Sharing intelligence about rural crime is integral to the success of the scheme, with farmers and police officers already communicating with each other regularly on social media sites such as Facebook - via the Country Watch Eden page.
Also, a network of sheep farmers including Alan Alderson of Barras Farm in Kirkby Stephen and Will Patterson of Coupland Beck Farm in Appleby regularly invite police officers onto their farms to learn about the livestock industry, the yearly cycle of sheep production and the language and terminology used by the county’s sheep farmers.
Overall, the objective of the initiative is to educate the police and public about the livestock industry to a point where they’d notice if something criminal or suspicious was taking place.
NFU Appleby Group Secretary Amanda Wallbank helped set up the scheme. She said: “With 400 Facebook users and the scheme’s profile really taking off locally we decided it was time to have a logo.
“As the initiative is there for everyone in the local community, we thought it would be a great idea to allow the children of Appleby Grammar School to create a logo we hope will become a recognisable image in their lives.”
Twelve pupils who had designed logos out of core school time were confirmed as finalists – winning a trip to Will Patterson’s farm, a fleece with the winning logo on and a certificate (presented to them by Penrith and the Borders MP Rory Stewart). The two winners also received £25 Amazon vouchers.
Rory Stewart MP said: “I am really proud to see the NFU, farmers, police and schools working together. Rural crime is a very serious issue we are only going to address by working in partnership. Initiatives like this one are the cornerstone of our countryside and what makes us proud of rural Britain.”
Head of Appleby Grammar School’s Year 7, Sam Rowan, added: “This project has really grabbed the imagination of the children. Using the NFU logo we spent some time with the pupils discussing the importance and significance of branding. In total we had 35 entries to the competition which is a great response. Some of the children have had personal experience of rural crime or have farming backgrounds, so I think this project is very close to their hearts.”
