Chris has committed his career to engaging young people with farming and the countryside. He founded his ‘farm museum’ back in 1984 on the farm he grew up on, the Barleylands. His father collected vintage farm machinery, which Chris and his family decided should be displayed with relevant information to help visitors understand more about food and farming. Chris originally manned the whole operation by himself but now has an education team who help him to deliver his fabulous days out for children. The project grew and grew and now hosts over 14,000 school children a year, being widely recognised as an outstanding education experience.
Now known as ‘The Discovery Barn’, the farm museum provides a unique experience for schools and visitors. In here children can grind wheat, match seeds to food, make healthy lunchboxes, learn about food miles, and sample milking methods from the past. Visitors learn about growing crops, can explore vegetable plots and an animal barn. Children can take part in cookery workshops in special kitchen classrooms, rustling up their lunch from scratch. This brings the field to fork story to life and equips them with valuable skills. A variety of inspiring themed days are on offer to make sure the farm visits can link to topics being covered in school, and activities include literacy, numeracy, lamb feeding, planting, and local history.
The site also hosts a toddler group which aims to introduce the children to farm life through different weekly themes and activities, such as planting and animal feeding. Children are more confident around animals and gain a more thorough understanding and appreciation of their food.
Handsam can help you plan for your next countryside outing with our trip planning system, or why not find out more about LOtC Heroes.
