Over 2,500 primary school children return to Food and Farming Day in Peterborough
Kids Country, the educational arm of the East of England Agricultural Society, were delighted to welcome over 2,500 primary school children back to the East of England Showground for their flagship Food and Farming Day on Friday 1st July.
With the opportunity for hands-on learning experiences from 70 educators from the food, farming and conservation sectors, Welland Academy, Stamford, were amongst the 40 primary schools returning to the unique event.
Rebecca Pallister, Welland Academy, said: “The Food and Farming Day was amazing! It was so well planned; all the information was fantastic and every staff member I had the pleasure to speak to were fantastic. The educators were also amazing, and our children thoroughly enjoyed the event! The only problem we had was that we wished we were able to stay at the event even longer because it was so outstanding! We will be booking for next year as soon as we can.”
Children finding out about potato farming with Albert Bartlett Potatoes
Kimberley Barfoot-Brace, of family-owned vegetable growers and packers, Barfoots, explained why they wanted to travel up from West Sussex for the Food and Farming Day: “We’re big veg growers and getting children to eat more vegetables is really important to us; there’s no where else that we can engage with children in this way, inspiring them to eat more vegetables, and also introducing them to an amazing industry that may be a future career path for them.”
Children enjoying the machinery zone as Farmer Luke explains what each piece of kit is used for
The Food and Farming Day also hosted the awards ceremony for the Queen Mother’s Handwriting Awards, now in its 45th year and sponsored by Cross Pens. East of England Agricultural Society president, John Holdich OBE, said: “Handwriting is really important, and the quality of entries this year was better than ever, which is very promising.”
With five classes, the winners are as follows: Class 1, Jack Fitzgerald, Thomas Johnson Lower School; Class 2, Hannah Patel, Evington Valley Primary School; Class 3, Adrian Chau, Martin High School Academy; Class 4 (Special Educational Need) Marc Gallamoza, Billing Brook School Academy Trust; Class 5 (Creative Writing – theme ‘The Countryside’) Dahlia Anderson, Wheatcroft Primary School.
John Holdich OBE presents Hannah Patel with her certificate for 1st prize in Class 2 of the Queen Mother’s Handwriting Awards
Visitors to the Food and Farming Day moved around eight learning zones (Field to Fork, All About Animals, Interactive Area, The Sheep Show, History of the Working Horse and the Working Dog, Machinery, Small Displays, and Tractor Rides), for a day that offered learning experiences to match many aspects of the National Curriculum.
Sponsors included the Agricultural Engineers Association (AEA), the Chadacre Agricultural Trust, Avalon Fresh and S H Pratt Group.
Kids Country education manager, Sandra Lauridsen, says: “After a two-year break due to the pandemic, I don’t think any of us involved in organising the Food and Farming Day could stop smiling – to see over 2,500 children having such a fun day whilst also learning so much engaging with our educators makes all the hard work more than worth it.”
Sandra continued: “We are so proud of our Food and Farming Day, it is a unique learning experience for children from across the East of England and we can’t wait to see it go from strength to strength now, roll on 2023! I would also like to say a huge thank you to all the volunteers who helped make the day happen, and also all the educators who put such effort in to their displays – the children learned so much.”
Kids Country runs a full programme of events all year round, with the autumn term welcoming the All About Apples Event (3-7th October) and the Winter Warmer Soup Challenge starting on 1st November. To view the full range of events on offer this year and book your school’s place at the Food and Farming Day, please visit www.kids-country.co.uk/events or email slauridsen@eastofengland.org.uk with any questions.
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