Chatham GreenLauren Weller is a student at the Royal Agricultural University, studying for a Graduate Diploma in Agriculture. She previously studied for a degree in education, and is interested in the ways that farms can be used to support teaching about healthy eating and environmental sustainability as well as providing unique outdoor experiences.
Read her blog below of the week she spent with us :
I have been quiet for a while because I’ve had my head stuck in my books trying to learn all there is to know about farming enterprises. With exams behind me, my knowledge was tested in a far more practical way at the first of three work experience placements…
I was lucky enough to spend a week in Essex at The Chatham Green Project, which is part of the Wilderness Foundation. The project is both a conservation and educational initiative: it seeks to promote sustainable farming practice and it is based on a 400 acre arable farm under an HLS agreement, which it uses as the primary resource for visiting school children. Here are three things I learned about children whilst I was there:
1.       Children LOVE being outdoors. As soon as they were let out they were like fireworks fizzing across the meadow. Everything they found was an exciting discovery; I was proudly shown snails, bees, butterflies, centipedes and lots and lots of ants.
2.       Children ask LOTS of questions. It was a refreshing change from the stony silence that so often follows ‘Any questions?’ at conferences. From the first ‘If this is a farm, where are the animals?’ to the last ‘Can I come back tomorrow?’ we were quizzed on what things were, why they looked like that and what they did.
3.       Learning outside the classroom is a great equalizer. As the experience is new to everyone, anyone can excel. There was a particular child who seemed to be on the edge of his peer group and who struggled with his worksheet, but once outside he absolutely thrived. He became independent rather than awkward and made some of the most exciting discoveries of the day.
As well as helping with schools visits, I also researched links between the activities offered by the Project and the national curriculum. I noticed that there is very little space in the secondary curriculum for learning about ecology; the focus instead being on scientific or geographical enquiry.  This is very useful knowledge, as I am always thinking about secondary pupils and what they could get out of farm visits, as well as how schools could be persuaded to spare the time!
Anyone interested in a student placement, please contact the office on 0300 123 3073