Supporting Others and Local Produce
Education
The Society welcomes thousands of school children to their 100 acre indoor and outdoor site on the outskirts of Harrogate each year. They run a programme of events all year round, some of the main ones are detailed here:
January – Farmhouse Breakfast Week
Around 100 children from schools in the Harrogate area are invited to celebrate the Farmhouse Breakfast each year. They join in some food-related workshops using local produce and are a served a farmhouse breakfast. The breakfast, made of locally-grown ingredients where possible, includes a bowl of whole-grain cereals, a bacon or sausage bap, some fruit and a drink of milk.
March – Grow your own potatoes (Planning)
March is planting time so we invite the children from around 200 primary schools to plant their own potatoes and find out how to grow and nurture them. It’s an opportunity to celebrate the humble potato, packed full of vitamins and minerals and a great energy source for growing kids. The society also runs workshops to promote local produce and educate children about where potatoes come from, how to cook them, the history of potatoes and their nutritional value.
May – Springtime Live
Springtime Live is a show made up of hands-on activities and workshops all themed around spring, new life, food, farming and the countryside. It’s a great day out for families and gives visitors the chance to get up close to animals including cattle, take part in some craft activities and let off steam in the soft play area.
June – Countryside Days
Held over two days in June, Countryside Days is the Society’s largest education event and is aimed at Key Stage Two children from across Yorkshire and the Humber. The event, attended by around 6,000 pupils, is made up of almost 100 practical and interactive workshops themed around the countryside, the environment and farming. There are also some live shows.
June – Grow your own potatoes (Harvest)
Remember those potatoes that were planted back in March? Well now it’s time to harvest them! The children are invited back to see their local produce and how their potatoes have grown.
July – Discovery Zone at the Great Yorkshire Show
The Society sets up a dedicated family area at the three-day Great Yorkshire Show to help visitors of all ages understand the important messages of the day such as healthy living, the environment and the countryside.
October – Apple Day
Apple Day is an event which aims to inspire children about the wonderful range of apple varieties and how to grow them. The children get the change to taste apples, juice them, cook with them and try out some craft activities using recycled materials.
October – Create and Explore at Countryside Live
The children will be entertained all day long with a great range of hands-on activities for all the family at Countryside Live. From straw craft to sausage making to willow weaving, Create and Explore is a fantastic area for children to explore at this two-day show.
Who teaches the teachers?
The Yorkshire Agricultural Society can help with that too.
All the courses are provided FREE of charge.
The Society have a whole series of Teacher Courses including; Geocaching – an outdoor treasure hunt, Science in the Woods, Gardening Club, Outdoor Literacy and Creative Writing, Rocks, Stones and Soils. New courses are attended to the programme, a recent one is Outside Makes Us Happy Inside. This course looks specifically at the issues of mental health in children and use of the outdoors as a therapeutic environment.
The Society welcomes grant applications from schools who are looking to increase pupils’ understanding of food and local produce, farming and the countryside. To find out more about applying for a grant visit the Yorkshire Agricultural Society website: http://yas.co.uk/charitable-activities/grant-applications
If you work at a school in Yorkshire and wish to find out more information, please contact Elizabeth Hudson, Charitable Activities Manager, elizabethh@yas.co.uk or call the main reception on 01423 541000.
