Bringing the farm to life for Cornwall’s primary school children

The Cornwall Kingfisher Award Scheme is connecting primary school children with the natural world through hands-on outdoor learning on working farms across Cornwall.

They received £2,600 from the Business Club FundA sum of money made available for grant making, often with specific criteria/conditions..

The grant funded coach travel for schoolchildren, volunteer lunches and mileage, staff costs, DBS checksA DBS check is a record of a person’s criminal convictions and cautions. DBS checks are carried out by the Disclosure and Barring Service, also known as DBS., and books and vouchers for participating schools. In total, 279 children and their teachers benefitted from the scheme, supported by 22 volunteers across field days in Stithians, Falmouth, Constantine, Redruth and Camborne.

Children were taken onto a local farm to talk to the farmer and expert volunteers, exploring the relationship between food, farming and wildlife through practical, hands-on activities. Their follow-on classroom projectsA piece of work that delivers an output. gave them the opportunity to research and build on what they had discovered during the visit, with the best work recognised through an end-of-term judging process.

The project is particularly valuable for children from urban areas who have limited access to the countryside, and for those with learning difficulties, for whom outdoor and experiential learning can be genuinely life-changing.

Teachers also benefitted greatly, gaining knowledge and confidence from subject experts that helped them deliver this area of the curriculum more effectively. As the scheme’s coordinator noted, the volunteers enthusiastically shared their expertise with both teachers and children alike.

The experience also had a profound effect on the host farmer and his wife, who reflected on what it meant to open their farm to young people:

“Observing the activities at the different stations was such an eye opener for us. It really made us appreciate how important our role as farmers is, not only producing food but caring for the soils and biodiversity on the farm.”

For more information about the Cornwall Kingfisher Award Scheme visit: fwagsw.org.uk/cornwall-kas

About the Funder

Established in 2008 the CCF business club is made up of local philanthropic businesses joining together to give back to their communities. 

Membership fees are pooled and twice annually members are invited to join a panel and decide on where their funding will be allocated. 

If you would like to join these businesses find out how on our Business Giving pages.

If you are a community group looking for funding, please view our available grants. 

If you are looking to support the Cornwall Community Foundation with a donation, go to our online donation page.