As parents get used to staying at home with their children and attempting home learning on a multitude of subjects, farmers across the country are doing their bit to make the learning process simple and fun for kids of all ages by shooting videos explaining what they do.
The cross-industry farm-to-fork effort is showcasing ‘hero’ content, using the wealth of resources in the farming industry and beyond to assist home learning in an engaging and accessible manner. It is hosted by the farming/food production community website EatFarmNow, run by a group of farming community leaders led by farmer Will Evans, who does the Rock and Roll farming podcast.
#LockdownLearning resources cover the vital STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and maths) and includes tailor-made original content, as well as links to interesting content from other websites. The NFU Education team is busy curating content, packaging it up into bite-sized, digestible chunks, and promoting this to its audiences. Each week has a different theme and new videos are being uploaded all the time.
Those taking part include horticulturalist and TV presenter James Wong (Botany Geek), actor/comedian Charlie Baker, journalist Anna Jones, farming influencer Hannah Jackson (aka The Red Shepherdess), Karen Watson at Barleylands Farm Park and nutritionist Barbara Bray MBE. CHAP contributions are being prepared by Innovation Hub Lead Dr Jenna Ross, Research Assistant Dr Emma Campbell and Dr Tom Ashfield from the Digital Phenotyping Laboratory at Rothamsted.
Lots of working farmers are also using their natural talents for explaining what they do: Farmer Tom introduces the concept of no-till seed drilling, Dan a free-range egg farmer explains how hens make eggs, Dairy Farmer James Robinson goes through the life-cycle of cows and market gardener Olivia James explains the importance of healthy soils.
CHAP and its partners, notably the Small Robot Company, are already working on their contributions, so watch this space for more news on CHAP’s Lockdown Learning stars. Look out for #LockdownLearning on social media.
If you or your organisation has something to contribute, register here.
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