Farm School

A nationwide family learning experience that will transform the attitudes of a generation

Summary
The Soil Association is working with children, their families and schools to build more localised and secure communities of people who know where their food comes from and who enjoy a tangible connection with the way it is produced.

In a world where children think that their food comes only from supermarkets, where the obesity time-bomb is primed to explode, and where our very future depends upon an increasingly threatened layer of soil, we want to reconnect children and their parents to the sources of their food. For a generation facing the impacts of climate change, we want to demonstrate how truly sustainable farming can produce healthy food and a healthy planet.

Every child in the UK deserves the chance to swap the city for a life-enhancing visit to an organic farm, to experience wide open spaces, to taste fresh organic food and to meet farm animals and wildlife. An understanding of the natural world and their role in it will empower young people to make positive and fundamental changes to how they live their lives.

The need
Unaware. That’s the best way to describe most children’s idea of how the countryside works. When asked in a Country Life survey “Why should you shut gates in the countryside?” one 14-year old answered: “To stop people dumping cars in the field.” Most children will simply never have visited a farm before and so do not understand how they work, or appreciate food and farming’s impact on the environment and on wildlife. A 2005 survey found that 60% of schoolchildren thought that potatoes grew on trees, while 11% of 8-year olds don’t know the origin of pork chops.

The experience
Visiting an organic farm means that children meet the animals, see the crops and vegetables being grown and experience the countryside. The visits stimulate the senses through sight, smell, touch, sound and taste. Teachers report that children “aren’t aware of how much they are learning”. It is a shared journey of learning. Children discover that the environment is a complex and beautiful system that we all rely on for food, water, air and shelter.

The ecological benefits of organic farming
English Nature and the RSPB have reported that there are more birds, butterflies, beetles, bats and wild flowers on organic farms than on conventional ones. On average wildlife is 50% more abundant and there are 30% more species than on non-organic farms.

Organic farms work with nature and produce far fewer greenhouse gases because they rely on natural processes, not chemical stimulation from artificial fertiliser. Exploring a working organic farm shows children how food, the environment, wildlife and animal welfare are all connected. Children see for themselves some of the glories of nature’s delicate web and why we must respect and conserve it.

Farm visits
The Soil Association has a network of over 100 organic farms throughout the country offering school visits. As well as allowing children to experience nature close up, the visits create links between the schools and farms which can be fostered and maintained.

The Soil Association’s education team actively support the farms by:

• staff training and development
• liaising with schools
• producing materials
• publicising the project.

'I didn’t want to go back to school. I wanted to stay. I liked the Essex saddleback pigs and the silky hens when their eyes sparkle in the sun'.

So said seven year old Chloe after a visit to Ashlyns Organic Farm. Situated in Essex’s rolling unspoiled countryside, Ashlyn’s keeps a flock of 350 Black Rock hens and 15 traditional Lincoln Red cattle, and supplies fresh, local and organic food to local schools. The farm co-exists with a range of wildlife including hares, foxes, rabbits and skylarks.

The visit was organised as part of the Soil Association's programme to enable children from inner-city London to visit nearby organic farms. Over 100 schools and 4000 children have benefited over the last two years. For many of the children it is their first trip out of the city, let alone to a farm. The days have been hugely rewarding for children and teachers alike - broadening horizons, building confidence and providing life-enhancing experiences.

Family Masterclasses
The Soil Association has just launched a programme of Family Masterclasses, taking place on our demonstration organic farms, which will help families learn lost skills such as bread and jam making, bee-keeping and cheese-making.

Farm School Project Costs

£250k	will enable us to develop a nationwide Farm School programme
£100k	will support 100 demonstration farms in our network per annum
£50k	will develop a regional Farm School Project (working with 3-5 farms, delivering 50 in-school workshops about food, farming and the landscape with follow-up visits for schools to the farms, offering bursaries to disadvantaged schools, providing supporting materials and training)
£30k	will support the development of an interactive Farm School website with the acclaimed animation company, Aardman
£25k	will fund 20 ‘Family Masterclasses’ and the reprint of 40,000 Little Books of Organic Farming

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