An educational group has called on farmers to help children learn more about food and farming with a June-wide initiative.
This June, Linking Environment and Farming (LEAF) is calling on farmers to get involved in Open Farm School Days to inform and inspire the next generation about farming and all it delivers.
Educating and engaging with young people about farming is vital for both their futures and that of British farming, the education organisation says.
The nationwide initiative aims to get children and young people out onto farms and learning about where their food comes from, how it is grown and meeting the farmers who produce it.
From how farmers grow crops for food, clothes and medicine, conserve energy and protect precious resources like soil and water, to how and why they use science and technology to farm sustainably and all they do to care for wildlife and the environment.
LEAF Director of Education and Public Engagement, Carl Edwards said that public understanding begins with good learning experiences out on farms at an early age.
“Society needs individuals who are armed with the ability to make informed decisions about food and its production,” Mr Edwards said.
“LEAF Open Farm School Days provides exactly this – an opportunity for children and young people to experience farming at first hand and learn about its impact on their daily lives and the world around them.”
Learning experience
Poultry farmers, Nick and Claire Bragg from Frogmary Farm in Somerset regularly open their farm for LEAF Open Farm School Days.
They teach children about farming and healthy food by promoting the food they produce on-farm.
The farm has a specially designed broiler house which includes a viewing area that allows the children to see just how the chicken they eat is reared.
All registered farmers receive free support and are promoted on LEAF’s interactive schools’ map for teachers looking for farms to visit.
Annabel Shackleton, LEAF Open Farm Sunday manager added: “Farms provide amazingly rich and diverse learning experiences. We want farmers to open up, share their farms with the consumers of tomorrow and enthuse them about the world of farming.”
