3 minute read
Kids Country & Farming Day
Andrew O’Shea Reports on the Day.
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Friday July 1st 2022 saw the OSBPG Foundation Charity representing our beloved Oxford Sandy and Black Pigs at the 2022 Kids Country Food and Farming Day at the East of England Showground in Peterborough. Andrew O’Shea, supported by friend and local OSB breeder Lucy Kenney and a few of her piglets headed for the show ground.
The weaners, as you can see unloaded easy and were very chilled out with it all, and loved the attention from teachers and children. The day saw over 2,500 primary school children visit our exhibit. Our stickers were a huge hit with the children, they were stuck to jumpers, school bags, lunch boxes and water bottles.
We had so many questions around the pigs ; “How old are they?”, “Why are your pigs not white?”, “Is that where bacon comes from?”, “how long do they live?”, “Have they got names?” and 1001 more. The teachers loved the information packs we gave out, which had our pork nutrition and what to feed you pigs posters, some car sticks and our breed history leaflets (all of which you can get for free from our shop here).
The biggest hit of the day was our Quiz Sheet, which gave children a chance to win one of our hoodies. I was taken a back by the number of entries we had, and the fact i got homework to take home ; marking over 250 quiz sheets :) . We had so many 100% correct sheets that we had to pick a winner at random. So after folding up over 50 A4 pieces of paper, putting them in a box and a good old shake up we had a winner.
The Winner was Holly from Farcet Primary School, who won our much wanted OSBPG Hoodie. I spoke with Nicola Martin, Deputy Headteacher, who was over the moon to learn that one of their pupils had won and arranged for Holly to be awarded her prize.
After Holly received her prize, Nicola gave me a few words about their day at the Show;
“All of Farcet Primary School attended. The day was a huge success with all the children (ranging in ages from 4 to 11) learning about different aspects of farming. Many children were heard to say that it was the best trip they had ever been on. The children loved the wide variety of activities on offer, particularly where they could get involved via the use of 'hands-on' activities or quizzes.”
Nicola Martin, Deputy Head, Farcet Primary School
OSBPG Foundation Charity Hoodie Winner - Holly
Lucy and I, had a great day representing the charity and our breed, we were asked to provide feedback to the show organiser, which we did with great positivity, a huge amount of work goes into organising an event on this scale. I asked show ground for their review of the event and they told me;
“Kids Country, the educational arm of the East of England Agricultural Society, were delighted to welcome over 2,500 primary school children back to the East of England Showground for their flagship Food and Farming Day on Friday 1st July.
Visitors to the Food and Farming Day moved around eight learning zones (Field to Fork, All About Animals, Interactive Area, The Sheep Show, History of the Working Horse and the Working Dog, Machinery, Small Displays, and Tractor Rides), for a day that offered learning experiences to match many aspects of the National Curriculum.
Kids Country education manager, Sandra Lauridsen, says: “After a two-year break due to the pandemic, I don’t think any of us involved in organising the Food and Farming Day could stop smiling – to see over 2,500 children having such a fun day whilst also learning so much engaging with our educators makes all the hard work more than worth it.”
Sandra continued: “We are so proud of our Food and Farming Day, it is a unique learning experience for children from across the East of England and we can’t wait to see it go from strength to strength now, roll on 2023! I would also like to say a huge thank you to all the volunteers who helped make the day happen, and also all the educators who put such effort in to their displays – the children learned so much.”
I look forward to representing us and returning to the event on June 30th 2023.
