A Norfolk charitable trust has been accredited under a national scheme to increase children's access to farmland and provide safe, educational places for farmland and countryside teaching.
Kevin Hall, manager at Whitwell Hall Country Centre in Reepham, was awarded the certificate under the Countryside Educational Visits Accreditation Scheme (CEVAS).
The charitable trust invites children of all ages and abilities to stay in a Georgian Hall or camp out on the estate and enjoy activities designed to help them better understand the countryside. Groups of children can help the sheepdogs in their herding duties, spot bats on night walks and watch farming in action as they get up close to the cows and sheep on site. They also have the opportunity to get in tune with their environment by learning bushcraft skills including how to safely build a camp fire, and shelterbuilding. All bushcraft is taught with the central principle of doing no damage to the children's surroundings and helps to build care and respect for the countryside.
Kevin Hart said:
"We have grazing meadows for a small herd of livestock, but our primary objective is to welcome children here and teach them about the countryside. We keep costs to a minimum so we can encourage children from under-privileged backgrounds to visit. Children who are following an alternative curriculum in local schools also come in once a week for vocational training."
Kevin Hart uses his background in ecology and land management to ensure all the exciting activities have an educational value. Whitwell Hall has environmental care at its core and children can learn how farming can be integrated with conservation and sustainability.
Kevin Hart said:
"I think it is crucial for children to learn about the countryside. You change things by educating children. When we have groups visiting from inner cities, they are petrified of the dark and bats flying overhead because they simply do not get to experience the dark with streetlights on through the night. Some have never properly seen the stars and are utterly amazed when seeing them at Whitwell.
"It is worrying when a group of 15-year-olds visit and they don't know the difference between cows and sheep or why they are farmed. These children never come across these animals in their daily lives. They are absorbed in their computer games and urban lifestyle - they don't understand where food comes from. Educating them now will hopefully encourage them to make healthy, sustainable choices in the future."
Educational access visits at Whitwell Hall Country Centre are also provided under the Countryside Stewardship Scheme. This allows schools to use the centre as a countryside classroom to assist in curricular studies and to learn more about agriculture and environmentally friendly farming methods.
Kevin Hart said:
"CEVAS is another valuable feather in our cap. It is a flag for what we have been doing. It is good to have the accreditation from Defra."
Farming Minister, Jeff Rooker, said:
"Defra actively encourages farmers who provide educational visits under the Environmental Stewardship and Countryside Stewardship Schemes to participate in the CEVAS accreditation.
"It is important that children have access to the countryside and have the opportunity to experience farming at first hand. Farm visits allow children to learn about where their food comes from, as well as wider farming and countryside matters, in a fun and stimulating environment.
"CEVAS accreditation ensures a safe and educationally worthwhile farm visits and gives peace of mind to teachers who are able to choose farms safe in the knowledge that the farmers have the right skills to give the children an interesting educational experience in a secure environment."
CEVAS was developed by Farming and Countryside Education (FACE), in partnership with Defra, the Countryside Agency, and DfES, and is administered by the Access to Farms partnership. CEVAS is a voluntary scheme which has been designed to help farmers have a better understanding of how to provide safe facilities for children to visit, information that fits with curricular studies, and to give them confidence in dealing with school visits.
