AHDB expands school farm visit programme after successful pilot

Thirty farmers across England and Wales with limited experience hosting school visits can apply to receive fully funded Countryside Educational Visits Accreditation Scheme (CEVAS) training alongside one-to-one support. 

Schools participating in the project can also access funding towards transport costs, as this is often a barrier for taking children on farm visits.

Applications are open to farmers from the Beef and Lamb, Dairy, and Pork sectors until 1 August.

Fourth-generation farmer, and one of last year’s participants, Serena Colwill from Exford in Somerset is passionate about inviting young people to her working farm: ‘’It not only benefits their mental health but also helps them understand about where their food comes from, how we care for our animals, and the environment. Each child should be given the opportunity to experience this.

‘’Overall, I had a fantastic experience with the School Farm Visits Support Programme. I would like to thank LEAF and AHDB for giving me the opportunity to enhance my knowledge in delivering educational farm visits on our farm at no cost. It has really helped me build on the success of my business.’’

The initiative is in collaboration with Linking Environment And Farming (LEAF) Education and aims to increase understanding and knowledge around farming and where food comes from by helping farmers deliver high-quality, safe, and memorable on-farm experiences for school children.

The CEVAS training can either be completed face-to-face with three full-day training sessions in October or online via weekly two-hour sessions over six weeks starting in January.

Farmers will have access to CEVAS trainers and all the necessary information on how to confidently deliver memorable school farm visits will be provided. Participants will also have access to tailored one-to-one support from a LEAF Education Specialist and be able to network with more experienced host farmers and benefit from their knowledge.

Looking ahead to this year’s project, Roz Reynolds, AHDB Head of Education, said: ‘’We are really excited to be supporting even more farmers this year. We know from the pilot that sharing your knowledge and giving young people the opportunity to learn where their food comes through experiencing a working farm first-hand can be really rewarding and would encourage anyone who is looking to host school visits on their farm to find out more and apply.’’

Interested levy payers can visit ahdb.org.uk/schoolfarmvisits to submit applications (the deadline for this is 1^st August) or register for the Q&A event on 16 July to find out more.