West Woodhay Estate

By kind permission of Mr Harry Henderson, 180 KS2 children from Woolton Hill Junior School delighted in visiting this glorious estate. Over the 2 days the children were able to learn from and talk with various workers on the estate including the arable manager, gamekeeper, shepherd, tractor driver and gardener. All of these individuals brought their area of expertise alive for the children through showing them what their work entails.

Mrs Sue Marriott regularly hosts educational visits on her farm and was very pleased to run 2 days for Preston Candover Primary School thinking particularly about wheat and lamb production.

Mr Mark Maclay, Chairman of Hampshire Country Learning believes strongly that children should have the opportunity to engage with nature and to learn about how the countryside is cared for and how food is produced. A keen group of Year 6 children from St Mary Bourne School explored the grain dryer, found out about the different crops grown at Binley, they investigated the milking parlour and thoroughly enjoyed seeing a cow being milked.

Throughout the day the group were particularly focussing on interdependence and discovered how all the farming operations have a bearing on one another and are carried out in order to benefit the other for example maize is grown as a crop to be turned into silage to feed the cows. The waste from the cows is spread onto the fields to provide nutrients for the next crop.

The children marvelled at the range of products grown in Mrs Maclay’s fruits and vegetable garden and thoroughly enjoyed sampling some apple juice pressed in front of their very eyes.