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Well-known farmers provide 'lockdown learning' to children

8 April 2020 | by FarmingUK Team | Education, News
Celebrity farmers such as Adam Henson are hoping to inspire and educate children about food and where it comes from
Celebrity farmers such as Adam Henson are hoping to inspire and educate children about food and where it comes from

Prominent farmers and growers are providing educational activities for children while they are in lockdown due to the coronavirus.

Children will be educated on food production and farming as part of a new #LockdownLearning project, which has now been launched.

The free, online resource comes as thousands of parents are now home-schooling their children due to the spread of Covid-19.

The project, which was developed by the NFU and EatFarmNow, aims to help children build their knowledge of science and technology alongside learning all about food production.

Well-known farming faces such as Countryfile’s Adam Henson and TV presenter Jimmy Doherty will document their farming journey through online videos and social media.

The project will focus on different themes over the next four weeks, starting with an Easter theme for over the Easter holiday and then focusing on horticulture, food and technology in agriculture.

Educational resources designed by the NFU’s education team of former teachers will be available for parents to use, as well as activities from other educational farming programmes.

NFU President Minette Batters said the combination of videos, activities and challenges mean these resources have something for everyone.

“This is an unprecedented time for all of us. Many parents are now having to come up with a home-schooling plan for the first time and we wanted to provide an educational project that was fun and exciting," she said.

“Our online resources are all about hands-on, practical learning, using food and farming to help parents teach science, technology, engineering and maths, which are key topics in the national curriculum.

“#LockdownLearning brings the world of food and farming to their very own living rooms and hopefully starts them on a journey where they recognise the importance of having a vibrant farming sector.”

People supporting the project and contributing vlogs include actor and comedian Charlie Baker, broadcast journalist Anna Jones and TV presenter and horticulturist James Wong.

All the #LockdownLearning content, which includes farmers’ videos, activities and NFU education resources, is available online.

EatFarmNow farmer Will Evans said: "I hope that hearing from us first-hand will excite and inspire children, and using subjects like science and technology will help them to learn more about these important areas of the national curriculum via food and farming projects.

“In the coming weeks I encourage all farmers to get involved and post their own videos on social media using the #LockdownLearning hashtag and to join this project which will help reconnect children with the great outdoors.”