Maidstone schools offered Clock House tours

Pupils from schools in the Maidstone area are being offered guided tours around Clock House Farm’s Yalding base to experience first-hand how a modern farm is helping to protect the natural environment through its pioneering green energy project.

The Kent soft-fruit grower has a number of significant projects in place, including a £10m investment in low-carbon river source heating at its Yalding site. 

One of the first schools to visit was Invicta Grammar School, with pupils from its geography ‘eco society’ taking the two-hour guided tour. They will be followed by groups of pupils from primary through to secondary schools in the surrounding area who have all signed up for the tour.

The company, which is headquartered in Coxheath, Maidstone, is a leading berry grower, producing in high-tech poly greenhouses heated from the River Medway thanks to an innovative heating process. 

Oli Pascall, managing director of Clock House Farm, said, “We are delighted to invite schools to join us on the tours, which are proving extremely popular. Children of all ages need opportunities such as this to develop their knowledge, respect the natural environment and hopefully create a lifelong interest in saving the planet.

”It’s great for the children to see the fantastic soft fruit grown here in the Garden of England, and to witness how our farm is working to reduce its carbon footprint and also protect the British farming sector. Of course, we are equally keen to encourage the next generation to consider the wide range of technical and grower career options open to them within farming and to attract young people with a fresh perspective to join Kent’s thriving horticulture industry.”