Inspiring young minds to respect the countryside

The lack of countryside knowledge causes a number of problems for rural communities and the environment. From livestock worrying to accidental fires and trespassing to fly-tipping, you only have to look at social media or the farming press in recent weeks to see what feels like a daily occurrence.

It would be very easy to sit down with friends over a drink and bemoan the fact that ‘they’ don’t understand farming, lament the lack of respect for those in land-based enterprises and rue the lack of understanding of the Countryside Code. There is however another approach.

Almost every agricultural society across England and Wales runs an educational initiative. There is Kids Country in the East of England, Countryside Days in Yorkshire, Farm Live in Devon and Living Land in Kent to name just a few. Primary school children attending these groups have the chance to get up close and personal with livestock, see machinery and learn what it does on the farm, get to grips with rural industry such as farriery or hedge laying and even get stuck into food production. Many children say these days are the highlight of their school year. For some from urban schools, this could be the first time they have ever engaged with farming and food production.

These events often rely on volunteers from the farming sector to operate, by bringing livestock, loaning machinery for displays, organising activities or stewarding groups around the event.

This week I went to Field to Food learning day, an education day run by the Royal Bath & West Society at their showground in Shepton Mallet. As National Access Adviser, I was tasked with running an activity to teach the Countryside Code in a way that was both fun and interactive.

An audience of busy, loud and curious 7–10-year-olds is vastly different from my usual day job of talking to adult CLA members about the law of public access. It therefore required a somewhat different approach. Armed with a newly created game of Countryside Code snakes & ladders, some foam dice and a set of plastic farm animals, I was as ready as I was ever going to be.

Luckily, the game seemed to go down well with the players who could ascend ladders by landing on squares demonstrating behaviour that aligned with the Countryside Code (sticking to the marked route, saying hello to people and picking up litter) or descending snakes by landing on squares that were labelled with countryside disasters (starting a wildfire with your barbecue, parking in a gateway or leaving dog mess behind).

In total the showground welcomed 1,500 children to the site on the day. That is up to 1,500 young minds who have taken away some knowledge of farming and rural life to remember for the future.

It was a fantastic experience, even if it did remind me why I trained as a Chartered Surveyor and not a teacher, and I would encourage any CLA member to give it a try by volunteering at one of these education days or an Open Farm Sunday event. In the meantime, I'm available if anyone fancies a game of Countryside Code snakes & ladders!