DODGING THE DROPPINGS

Taking a group of excitable 15 year olds around a farm is fraught with problems. They don't want to get their designer trainers mucky, they think that shearing a sheep is cruel and the realisation that the cute and fluffy lambs become their Sunday roast is all too much. But strangely, at the same time they really enjoy the experience and undoubtedly learn an awful lot from it. Even teenage lads from Newcastle can't resist stroking a new born lamb!

The National Trust in Borrowdale received a LEADER+ grant to employ a Food and Farming Learning Officer last October, whose job it is to provide opportunities for people to learn more about farming, the landscape and the products of the land. School group visits to working farms have been one aspect of this work, alongside farm and landscape interpretation and farm tours for the general public.

The school group visits have so far been a resounding success, with the Food and Farming Learning Officer arranging the visits and health and safety etc, and the farmers themselves leading the tours around the farms. The school pupils have ranged in age from 8 to 16 (primary school to GCSE) and have visited one of four farms taking part in the scheme. The farmers have enjoyed leading the tours, which can bring great satisfaction when a group has had a good time and most groups have written to the farmer following the visit to thank them for providing such a great experience. There is also a financial incentive for the farmers as they receive the fees charged to the school groups.

The potential for education work using the farm as an outdoor classroom is vast and the knock-on effects are numerous. People get a much better understanding of how the farming system works, an insight into some of the current issues in the countryside and an awareness of the fells as a working environment. In addition the produce from the farms is appreciated and valued as an integral part of the landscape, not just as a commodity.

The wide range of things that people may learn and experience on a farm visit are perhaps best expressed by the pupils themselves, as the following excerpts from feedback and letters to the farmers show:

"I thought that we would be walking on concrete and smelling something horrible but it wasn't like that. We were walking on grass most of the time and it only smelt when we walked past the cows."

"The visit was useful because you could see what you were learning."

"I like the Herdwicks the best."

Q: What was the most useful thing you learnt that you didn't know before?
A: That there were different types of sheep
A: How intelligent a sheepdog actually is.
A: The black lambs turn white/grey when they grow.

Q: What did you enjoy most about the visit?
A: Seeing a real life farm in the flesh
A: Getting close to the animals and learning about them
A: Watching the farmer whistle to the sheepdogs so they did what he wanted and rounded the sheep up.
A: Watching the sheep get shaved and feeling the wool

Q: What was the most surprising thing that you learnt?
A: Cows have passports

Q: What did you enjoy least about the visit?
A: Dodging all the droppings on the floor

So far this summer over 230 people have been on the farm tours and the feedback from the pupils, teachers and other visitors had been incredibly positive.

For anyone else interested in learning more about farming and the landscape in Borrowdale, the National Trust is organising a short evening course in conjunction with Keswick Adult Education Centre and the Lake District National Park Authority starting in September 2004.

For more details contact Kate Simpson at The National Trust on 017687 81923 or e-mail kate.simpson@nationaltrust.org.uk.

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