A busy autumn for farm visits!

This autumn two Newtown High School Business Studies GCSE classes are visiting Cannon Farm which will be one of their case studies. The design and Technology class at Welshpool High School visited Offa Farm to look at the production and marketing of vegetables. Farmer David Jones supplies vegetables to the school for school dinners and was delighted to meet some of his ‘consumers’! The High Schools have specific requirements that the project is only to happy to address says Caroline Davies who recently met teachers from all the High Schools in Powys at the Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship Conference where the café Project had a stand on November 6th 2006.

Llandinam CP School and Brynllywarch Special School visited Llwynderw Farm in Oct/Nov and farmer Michele Becker, who also hosted a bat evening during the summer, was able to show them her preparations for winter and how the late harvest of the special vegetables that she grows under polythene was coming along.

Llwynderw is a farm participating in the CAFE Project and in the Tir Gofal scheme. Owned by Michele and Richard Becker it is situated near Llanidloes and regularly hosts school visits. Michele is a scientist and Richard is both a farmer and a photographer.

Maesyrhandir School infants visiting Offa Farm Montgomery. Mr David Jones the farmer grows vegetables for sale locally. He also supplies Welshpool High School with vegetables for their school dinners. Teacher Linda Roberts

The visit to Cannon Farm, Llanerfyl where the farmer, Nigel Elgar hosted 17 infants from Dolfor CP School with their teacher Alison Jones.

Moat Farm on 8 July where 30 children in year 5 and 6 from Berriew CP School were visiting Moat Castle – a mediaeval motte and double bailey.

The farmers, Gill and John Trickey, had kindly hosted their first school trip to enable the children to appreciate the history ‘in their own backyard’. They live with the castle right on their doorstep and had taken care of it for twelve years. Mrs Trickey showed the children a magnificent embroidered picture of the site which she had made as it may have looked which now hangs in their dining room. The children also heard how the steep banks and marshy ditches could be hazardous for the cows and sheep!

Jeff Spencer, an archeaologist employed by the Clwyd Powys Archaeological Trust, CPAT, led the children and encouraged them to explore the site and make their own observations before explaining what clues there were and how archaeologists try to piece together how people might have lived in the area over a thousand years ago!

Berriew Headteacher Mrs Catherine Carter was pleased with the visit which enabled the children to discover things for themselves, realize the historical treasures on their doorstep, appreciate how the farming family look after the site on their doorstep and gain insight into the job that Jeff and his colleagues do.