Something random, Something different!

Something different!

For this post I thought I would do something different, so I did! My friend and I decided to go out of our way and volunteer on a free range pig farm. I know for a fact it that it was a first for me, the last time I visited a farm was during first school. We had a 8 o’clock start in the morning, to get to the pig farm we had go 30 minutes away from Chichester, driving up a beaten track in the process, this was an adventure in itself.  During our day at the farm we built a fence in the farm to help contain certain types of pigs, mainly the Gloucestershire Old Spots which is a pig listed on the endangered list with less than 2000 of them left. Building pens for pregnant pigs was another one of our tasks, this was key to ensure the piglets couldn’t run off or be pray to other animals.

Farms present an array of learning opportunities and experiences that children will remember. The images above state the links between farm visits and links to the national curriculum (Farms for Schools). This is the major selling point of farm visits, having a huge range of subjects that can be introduced. This is something I feel that any age can benefit from, and to also take away a positive feeling/experience. A final point is the need for this process to be carried on, having the younger generation showing an interest may help the longevity of local farmers. The farm experience brings out our love for nature, explained in Wilsons (1984) Biophilia hypothesis.

The biophilia hypothesis is the ground work for all nature related learning and experiences, the core ideology is that man has a must/love for nature. Having this bond with nature opens up our belief, and willingness to be a part of nature.  

To see the link for farm schools, follow the link below:

http://www.farmsforschools.org.uk/teacherguide.pdf

Reference

Wilson. E. O (1984). Biophilia, The human bond with other species. USA: Harvard College. 0.