Around 3,000 children to attend Essex Schools Food & Farming Day at ARU Writtle.
Pupils from 65 local primary schools will visit ARU Writtle later this month to learn how their food travels from farm to fork.
The activity-packed Essex Schools Food & Farming Day is organised by the Essex Agricultural Society and will be held on Tuesday, 25 June at ARU’s Writtle campus, near Chelmsford.
Event chairman Annabelle Rout, from the Essex Agricultural Society, said: “We are really looking forward to welcoming school children back to the showground in Writtle for this year’s event.
“The showground will be filled with exhibitors from across Essex in our five zones, livestock, machinery, food, crops and countryside and environment.
“We can’t wait to see and feel the buzz of 3,000 school children learning about the importance of food and farming in Essex.”
Hands-on activities and demonstrations are planned for the day. The children will come face to face with farm animals, see tractors and combine harvesters in action, and taste-test locally grown food.
The children will also showcase their own work – each school will display a hand-made scarecrow, based on the theme of the Olympic Games in Paris, with prizes awarded for the most imaginative designs.
The fun-packed day aims to bring children out of the classroom and give them a better understanding of the food chain and the role played by farmers in Essex. Exhibitors will raise awareness of the countryside, environmental issues and healthy eating.
Professor Roderick Watkins, Vice Chancellor of Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: “We’re delighted to be hosting the Essex Agricultural Society and local primary schools. This inspirational event is key to helping pupils increase their understanding of food, farming and the environment, and shows just how fulling careers in these sectors can be.”
