Young Farmer Focus - Liz Tree: "I would not be where I am today without experiencing farming as a child and I will forever be grateful to those farmers who took the time to teach and mentor me"

I grew up in South London and entered the agricultural industry after a chance encounter while lambing on holiday as a young teenager.

With no prior knowledge, family or friends working within the industry, it was not easy to find experience.

Nevertheless, I found a farm as close as possible to my parent's house in London and worked part-time throughout school. 

After finishing my A levels, I decided to undertake a degree in Agriculture at Harper Adams University.

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I worked on a variety of farms in the UK and abroad while completing a placement year working with poultry at Avara Foods.

I also had an amazing opportunity through the Royal Countryside Fund to participate in a roundtable discussion at Groundswell in 2022, and I am currently a student and young farmer ambassador for the NFU.

On finishing my degree, I was approached by a lecturer with an opportunity to study for a Master of Research in Agricultural Education, working with the charity Farms for City Children (FFCC).

The charity was founded in 1976 by Sir Michael and Lady Clare Morpurgo, enabling children from disadvantaged communities to experience the adventure of working together on farms in the British countryside.

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They have welcomed over 100,000 children from inner cities to their farms in Devon, Pembrokeshire and Gloucestershire for immersive residential trips.

This research aimed to identify the impact FFCC farm visits have on the children who attend.

I have a strong connection to the subject because I was in a similar position at a young age to the children who visited might never have seen a farm before.

My own experiences of seeing farms at a young age had completely changed the course of my life.

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I would not be where I am today without experiencing farming as a child and I will forever be grateful to those farmers who took the time to teach and mentor me.

During the session, I asked the children to draw answers to my questions about farming and to then discuss these drawings.

I found the impacts were wide ranging and extremely powerful with wide-ranging benefits for the children.

In my opinion, children visiting FFCC demonstrated personal growth and character development, a greater knowledge of agriculture and farming systems, more adventurous and informed decisions around food choices, and lasting positive sentiments suggesting the farm visit had left a great lasting emotional impact on them.

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Through my own personal experiences and the findings of this research, I know and understand the impact farm visits can have on urban children, and how this can then shape a child's future.

I firmly believe every child, regardless of background, should have the chance to experience farm life and I hope Government policy and the national curriculum does more to facilitate this in the future.