Children given taste of countryside

Children given taste of countryside at Food and Farming Day 2018

Over 5000 primary school children attended the Food and Farming Day held at the East of England Showground in Peterborough on Friday 29 June.

This was the sixth time the interactive event had been held by the East of England Agricultural Society’s Kids Country education programme and was attended by pupils from 50 schools across Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, Bedfordshire, Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire, and Essex.

It featured over 300 exhibitors from 70 companies offering various activities across 14 learning zones, giving the children the opportunity to learn countryside skills; touch, taste, and make various foods; come face-to-face with livestock and working animals; visit a replica of an African village; and get a glimpse of the latest machinery and technology deployed on UK farms.

The importance of food and farming

Sandra Lauridsen, Education Manager for Kids Country, said: “It has been a superb day and the atmosphere has been amazing. It just goes to show how popular this event is with not just children and schools, but with farmers and agricultural businesses across the region too.

“They recognise the importance of Food and Farming Day in providing a fun, interactive learning environment where children can develop their understanding of how farmers produce their food and the importance of our precious and beautiful countryside.

“This year we encouraged children to meet farmers volunteering at the event and have their pictures taken with them using our ‘Thank a Farmer’ selfie board! It’s important we that we create empathy and understanding between the next generation of consumers and the producers of their food.

“The feedback from both teachers and children has, once again, been fantastic. I hope they will now go on to talk to their families about what they have seen and heard, and the activities they have taken part in, and help raise awareness of the importance of farming and the countryside in all of our lives.”

35,000th Kids Country pupil

The event also welcomed the 35,000th pupil to have taken part in the East of England Agricultural Society’s Kids Country education programme.

A certificate and voucher, kindly sponsored by Nottcutts Garden Centre, was presented by The Lord Lieutenant of Cambridgeshire Mrs Julie Spence OBE QPM to Fourfields Primary School Pupil Jessica Hawke who, along with her fellow pupils, accepted it on behalf of each child who has benefited from Kids Country over the last six years.