皇家华人was in charge of the vegetable zone, where the Key stage 2 children were able to have a go at planting potatoes, guess the vegetable, get up close to a tractor, make a smoothie, see what it鈥檚 like to pick vegetables and try potato printing.
The stand was co-ordinated by Devon county adviser Fiona Rew with help from local farmers and growers. School meal suppliers Fresha and wholesalers Frank H Mann also lent a hand.
A fantastic opportunity
Devon farmer Cathy Case said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a fantastic opportunity to raise children鈥檚 knowledge and get them engaged. It鈥檚 very full on and there鈥檚 an awful lot of questions.
鈥淪ome children know all sorts about farming, some are coming with really little knowledge and don鈥檛 want to get their hands dirty, so the opportunity to talk to them all and give them that knowledge and information about farming is really great.鈥�
鈥淲e are here to educate, inspire and to help them to understand in a really hands-on way.鈥�
Farmwise chair Deborah Custance Baker
Farming and food provenance
There were also poultry, livestock and fruit sections and other exhibits included delivering a lamb 鈥� using a sheep simulator, a cuddly toy and copious amounts of gloop 鈥� and the brand new Farmwise mobile education unit was also unveiled.
From the end of this month it will be taken on the road to schools across the county to provide even more children with the opportunity to learn about farming and food provenance.
It was the eleventh time the annual event has been held.
121887,121893,121892,121891,121888,121889,121890
Educate, inspire and help
Deborah Custance Baker, Chair of Farmwise Devon, said: 鈥淪adly a lot of children don鈥檛 fully understand where their food comes from, or the work that goes into producing an egg, or a pint of milk, so that鈥檚 what we are here for, to educate, inspire and to help them to understand in a really hands-on way.
鈥淭he children can touch and smell all aspects of farming from huge combines to little ants, with expert volunteers on hand to explain the processes.
鈥淭he children have always got wide smiles on their faces as they get stuck into the activities, which means they鈥檙e not just learning about farming and rural life, they鈥檙e genuinely enjoying the experience, too, which they will take back to the classroom and home with them, and it encourages discussion and learning.鈥�