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What’s the big idea?
- We are all increasingly removed from the sights, smells and
experiences of farming and food production. A farm visit can provide
an excellent opportunity to support classroom work and make it
'real'.
- There are hundreds of farms all over the country that welcome
visits from school parties.
- While for most children the highlight of a visit to the farm
will be meeting the animals, fruit and vegetable growing, picking
and packing will support the promotion of fruit and vegetables
throughout the school.
Find a farm to visit. There are a number of
directories of farms which welcome school visits (see overleaf for
details). Many 'open' farms focus on animals. If you want to include
fruits and vegetables in the visit look out for the key words: horticulture,
pick-your-own, market garden or mixed farm. Make initial contact
with the farm and visit it yourself.
Practicalities. Some city farms are within walking or public
transport distance. A key consideration for most schools is the
cost of hiring a bus to get there. Can you apply for funding for
this? If you book a coach or bus check that it is able to go down
country lanes and turn around in the farmyard! Make sure that children
bring wet weather clothes and shoes.
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Questions to ask
- What crops and animals are there?
- What other facilities are there?
- Are guided visits available?
- What wet weather facilities are there?
- How long should we plan to stay?
- What hand-washing and toilet facilities are there?
- Where can lunch be eaten?
- Is there hard standing for a coach?
- Do you have liability insurance?
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Fruit and veg farm activities
- Pick-your-own fruit
- Dig for vegetables
- Identify plants
- See peas being frozen
- Cook produce when you get back
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Taking it to the Classroom
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The best way to make use of a visit is to ensure that it is integrated
with classroom activities both before and after the trip. For example:
Before the trip
- Plant growth, life cycle of plants, germinating seeds, conditions
for growth.
- Which foods come from different parts of the plant.
- What is a farm like? How are plants grown? The farm year. New
vocabulary.
- Preparing questions to ask on the farm.
On the farm
- Tour of field crops, tunnels, greenhouses and packing. Watching
seeds being planted.
- Finding out answers to prepared questions.
- Identifying different plants using a key.
- Mapping the horticulture unit and taking the temperature in
different areas.
After the trip
- Cooking recipes using fruit and vegetables picked or seen at
the farm.
- Writing a report of the visit and sending thank you letters
to the farmer.
- Investigating economic linkages between the farm and customers,
mapping origins of plants.
Pudsey Tyersal Primary School organised a visit to their local
city farm to coincide with science curriculum work that year 3 were
doing.
 “Staff
were at the farm waiting for us and we had a fun and action-packed
morning. We visited the goats and pigs, searched for bugs, found
out about what vegetables were being grown and how, and learned
about composting. There was a special room where we could have
our packed lunches.”
Henry Fawcett school ran a day trip for a class of around thirty
pupils, to a pick-our-own farm. The owners gave the children a talk
and showed them a working beehive. The pupils spent the day picking
strawberries, raspberries, carrots and beans. When they returned
to school the produce was shared out equally, and each pupil took
some home.
Raynville Primary School contacted the local allotment society
and arranged for an afternoon visit for Year 4 pupils. The children
were split into small groups and shown round by the allotment owners.
The owners talked to them about the different fruit and vegetables
and took some out of the ground for the children to see. The children
were then given strawberries, raspberries, gooseberries and rhubarb
to taste. This was a very successful trip and the children were
amazed that there was such a huge variety of vegetables growing
in their local area. The visit cost nothing as the children were
able to walk there from school.
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More Information
The Big Barn provides a website, www.bigbarn.co.uk, on which
you can search for farmers markets and pick-your-own farms
in your area. The website also includes information about
seasonal produce and recipes. They can also be called on
01234 871005.
The Countryside Foundation
for Education provides interactive website pages on www.countrysidefoundation.org.uk
exploring the origins of food, seasonality, food miles and
advice on preparation for farm visits. Contact 01422 885566
Farms for Schools provides
details of farms offering educational facilities. Contact
01422 882708 or visit www.farmsforschools.org.uk.
The Farming and Countryside
Education website provides contacts for farm visits as well
as other useful information for farm visits and materials
for curriculum work. Includes some materials from the National
Farmers’ Union. Contact 024 7685 8261 or visit www.face-online.org.uk
The Federation of City Farms
and Community Gardens can provide a downloadable list of
local city farms and community gardens. Call them on 0117
9231800 or visit www.cityfarm.org.uk
Growing Schools, a government
initiative, provides a database of farms to visit. See www.teachernet.gov.uk/growingschools
Healthy food - Healthy World
educational materials. developed by East Anglia Food Link
and Cambridgeshire Environmental Education Service, explore
sustainable food production and supply systems and health
issues. Available to download from www.eafl.org.uk/HealthyFood
Linking Environment and Farming
provides details of a national network of demonstration
farms that host school visits. Contact 024 76413911 or visit
www.leafuk.org.
National Farmers' Retail &
Markets Association can tell you about local pick-your-own
farms and farm retailers. Call them on 0845 45 88 420 or
have a look at their online directory on www.farma.org.uk
The Soil Association can provide
a list of organic farms to visit- www.soilassociation.org
(click on 'get involved', 'visit an organic farm')
The Women's Food and Farming
Union has a panel of speakers who can talk at schools. The
talk can be used as a follow-up or an alternative to a farm
visit. Speakers are provided at no cost to the school. 0247
6693 171 www.wfu.org.uk
Info bank 5: Get
food into the curriculum, info
bank 6: Stay safe, info
bank 10: Work with business
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