Two thousand four hundred primary school children from over fifty schools in Brighton and Hove, Surrey and Sussex visited the South of England Showground in Ardingly on the 12th July 2018 to get down to earth at the Connect with the Countryside event, which showcased all the great things that British agriculture and the countryside offers, from food to recreation.
The South of England Agricultural Society has now welcomed nearly 30,000 year 5 and 6 children to this annual event, which has been successfully running for 13 years.
Four special zones included Livestock, where children met a range of farm animals, from Sussex cattle to chickens; Horticulture and Food, where children learnt about healthy food, tasting local tomatoes and peppers and discovering how honey, bread and cheese are made; and two Wildlife and Recreation zones also offered important countryside topics, such as nature conservation, forestry and countryside sports such as fishing.
We were delighted to hear that Bill Biddell, the Vice Lord-Lieutenant of Surrey who attended the event is now talking to Surrey Agricultural Society about a similar event being organised in Surrey.