Launch of the 2015 Bayer-FACE Awards
FACE and Bayer CropScience are searching for the very best farm education experiences.
Farmers have been opening their gates to school children for over a decade
Farming and Countryside Education (FACE) and Bayer CropScience are delighted to announce the launch of the 2015 Bayer/FACE Awards celebrating the very best in farming education.
Bayer CropScience works with FACE to help children and young adults answer questions about where their food comes from. For many years, FACE has been formally accrediting excellent farmers and matching them with schools full of young minds, eager to know more about what goes on behind the scenes in the production of their food.
With the support of FACE and Bayer CropScience, farmers have been opening their gates to school children for over a decade, offering a valuable, safe and hands-on learning experience. As well as their educational purpose, these visits are an excellent means of demonstrating to young consumers the amount of hard work UK farmers put into producing the food we buy.
Such great work needs to be acknowledged. For that reason, FACE and Bayer CropScience are coming together once again to reward farmers committed to providing excellent food and farming education.
Janet Hickinbottom, National Education Officer at FACE, said: “We have a strong tradition of working together to celebrate the tremendous work carried out by unsung heroes who do so much to share their knowledge and enthusiasm about the countryside with young people. The process isn’t an easy one but the outcome is always exhilarating as we uncover what goes on during these inspiring collaborations between schools and farms.”
Andrew Orme, Managing Director at Bayer CropScience, said: “With an increasing global population and less land to grow our food, there has never been a greater need for people to have a better understanding of where their food comes from. As the UK’s leading supplier of crop protection products we are delighted to help organise the Bayer/FACE Awards again this year.”
The awards will be presented at a prestigious ceremony in the autumn of 2015, in five different categories which have been revised this year:
- Access – for a farm demonstrating outstanding achievements in encouraging access for pupils with special needs, disaffected students or disadvantaged young people
- Biodiversity – for a farm successful in highlighting the importance of a specific species or of biodiversity in general to young people
- Future of Farming Champion – for a farm making an outstanding contribution to improving young peoples’ understanding of the food and farming sector, across all ages and through a variety of activities
- Farm School Partnership – for a farm building successful relationships with one or several schools, making a valuable and sustained contribution to school life both on and away from the farm
- Inspiring Educator – for a farm or team who have initiated innovative or unusual means to create inspiring learning experiences, both on the farm and in the classroom
For those farmers wanting to enter this competition or for those who know someone who should be nominated, you can find more information at: www.visitmyfarm.org/awards
