Welcome to the Guided Nature Tours.
Thank you for your interest in visiting our farm. We hope that the experience will give your children inspiration and information about parts of the curriculum that are sometimes difficult to teach in a classroom environment.
The visit allows children to see for themselves how a modern farm works, in an enjoyable and safe environment.
Farming is the age-old practice of producing crops and livestock for food, fuel and fibre. The origins of human civilisation are closely linked to the development of farming when primitive hunter gatherers were gradually replaced by farmers producing the first domesticated plants and animals.
Modern agriculture is a highly competitive global industry. The UK produces 70% of the food we eat, the rest coming from other parts of the world. It is the first link in a sophisticated chain to prepare and process our food before we buy it in the shops. What a farmer grows depends on individual circumstances such as location, weather conditions, size of the farm, history of the area and market forces.
Farming has created the landscape that we see. It is the hedges and walls that divide fields that give the landscape its pattern, along with areas of trees and the colours of different crops. Even though they do not necessarily earn any money by activities such as cutting hedges and planting trees, farmers are helping to look after much of the wildlife in the countryside.
Many farmers also now operate broader enterprises to include leisure activities and environmental management. Defra provides advice and funding through agri-environment schemes to encourage farmers to follow more traditional farming methods that enhance the landscape, encourage wildlife, protect archaeological and historic features, and improve opportunities for enjoying the countryside. By conserving our countryside in this way we also play our part in the international agreement to maintain the natural diversity of animals and plants troughout the world.
The countryside offers an invaluable teaching resource. The visit can be used to teach all aspects of the curriculum through learning about farming and the countryside. We hope that this information will give you ideas to inspire your pupils and get the most out of the visit.