Yorkshire farmers sought for virtual classroom scheme

Local farmers are being urged to join a scheme that brings countryside life into the classroom.
By The Newsroom
Published 30th Apr 2021, 14:00 BST
More farmers are needed to talk about the countryside with school children.More farmers are needed to talk about the countryside with school children.
More farmers are needed to talk about the countryside with school children.

More than 200 school classes are on a waiting list to be matched with farmers for Farmer Time – an initiative which offers free fortnightly video calls between farmers and schoolchildren to bring the countryside to life.

To encourage more Yorkshire farmers to get involved and meet the demand from schools, the Future Farmers of Yorkshire – a group supported by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society – has become a Friend of Farmer Time.

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The group has joined forces with LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) and Village Farm to encourage more farmers across Yorkshire to sign up to the highly successful initiative.

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More farmers are needed to talk about the countryside with school children.More farmers are needed to talk about the countryside with school children.More farmers are needed to talk about the countryside with school children.More farmers are needed to talk about the countryside with school children.
More farmers are needed to talk about the countryside with school children.More farmers are needed to talk about the countryside with school children.

The scheme covers all aspects of farming-related topics and helps bring a better understanding about farming, food production and the environment to the classroom.

Such is the popularity of Farmer Time, it has an ever-increasing waiting list of schools wishing to be take part and so the Future Farmers of Yorkshire has become an official ‘Friend of Farmer Time’ to encourage more farmers to get involved.

Future farmer and primary school teacher Charlotte Middlebrook, whose family farm is near Selby, is a huge advocate of the scheme.

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Charlotte said: “Farmer Time is a fantastic free initiative. Any farmer can participate and the more diverse the range of farms that are connected, the better.”

East Yorkshire pig farmer and Future Farmer Kate Moore is one of 35 farmers across the region who takes part in the initiative.

Kate said: “I try and work with what they are studying, to reinforce their learning with real-life examples, but to be honest I have a young class and they are just so excited to see anything at all that I tend to let them lead the conversation and direction.

“It really is so rewarding seeing their faces and hearing their questions.”

Go to www.farmertime.org or contact [email protected] to sign up to Farmer Time or to find out more information.

Related topics:East Yorkshire