Grab your calendars and diaries and get ready to pencil in a brilliant family fun day on June 12th. Get down to your local farm open day and you might find pig racing, tractor and trailer rides, seeing the cows being milked or the sheep being shorn, chicks hatching and who knows what else ? Read on for more info :
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LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) www.leafuk.org is a national charity that helps farmers produce food with care for the environment, while working with their local community.
The sixth annual Open Farm Sunday on 12 June 2011 provides a great opportunity for the public to truly get to know how their food is produced and how the countryside around them is cared for.
Visitors will be able to learn from farmers themselves how natural plant and insect species are encouraged to thrive alongside crops, they will get a close-up look at farm animals and see how the needs of wildlife are balanced with modern food production.
LEAF organises Open Farm Sunday and supports farmers with putting on an event that is not only enjoyable, but gives visitors a really fascinating insight into aspects of the countryside that they would not usually see or experience on an average day out.
Discover Why You Should Visit A Farm
Open Farm Sunday (12th June) is the perfect opportunity to get out into the countryside and discover how much better a day in the open air can make you feel. Even if the sun doesn’t shine, as these facts show, visiting a farm could be a great antidote for busy, stressed out lives:
As little as two hours spent on a farm can benefit a person’s wellbeing and help them connect with nature.
A closer connection with nature can improve both mental and physical health.
13.5 million working days are lost because of stress every year.
Research conducted for LEAF by the University of Essex on visitors to a farm showed that:
anger and hostility levels decreased for 70% of the visitors
feelings of confusion and depression decreased for 80% of visitors
97% of visitors saw a reduction in their level of fatigue
And did you know….?
Biophilia is the word used to describe man’s love of nature
Eighty percent of the UK population live in urban areas
Over 40% of young adults (aged 16 – 24 years) have never visited a working farm
Farmers manage over 75% of the UK’s total land area
12 June 2011 will be the sixth Open Farm Sunday and over 450 farms across the country, from Cheshire to Cornwall, Flintshire to Fife and Norfolk to Northumberland, are expected to open. To find out which farms in your area are taking part visit http://www.farmsunday.org/. For up-to-date campaign information and to let us know about your time on the farm, follow us on Twitter - twitter.com/openfarmsunday.
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This looks great, there are quite a few near me, might take the kids!
ReplyDeleteQuite a few near us too! We will definitely go!
ReplyDeleteHope the weather's nice :)
ReplyDeleteDid this last year - gorgeous weather and it was the day after my little boys birthday. This year it's on his birthday and we're having a party for him (his first ever - he's 5). I guess they're all different. This one had horse & cart rides and various other bits, along with a barbecue, bouncy castle etc. but alot of it was to pay for as an extra (entrance to the farm was free). I think they could all be different, but there was no cows being milked or egg collecting on this one - fun, but not cheap.
ReplyDelete