An innovative event to help children discover more about the countryside and where their food comes is returning to Essex this summer.

The Essex Schools Food and Farming Day will be staged at Writtle College, near Chelmsford, on June 18.

The aim of the event, organised by Essex Agricultural Society, the Centre for Environment and Rural Affairs (CERA) at Writtle College and Essex County Council, is to give children a better understanding of the food chain and the role played by farming in Essex, while raising awareness of countryside and environmental issues.

Once again, the college will host 3,000 primary schoolchildren and about 500 teachers and assistants from all over Essex. Two hundred farmer stewards have been recruited to guide each group through the various activities, giving pupils direct contact with members of the local food and farming community.

Guy Smith, Essex farmer and chairman of the event steering group, said: “At first glance Essex can seem a very urban county, but if you look a bit more closely you will notice there is a lot more green on the map than there is grey. Most of that green space is managed by farmers for producing food and for conservation.

“In a rather busy county like Essex it is vitally important that, through schools, farmers reach out to the next generation who are both future consumers and the future countryside users. It is important to explain to young students how and why we, as farmers, go about looking after the Essex countryside so that it is productive, bio-diverse and beautiful.”

The event will be split into a trail around five zones - machinery, crops, livestock, food and countryside and environment - each of which encompass a key element of food and farming.

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