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Rural education charity hails record year

Pupils present their Totally Tattie Project
Pupils present their Totally Tattie Project

The Royal Northern Countryside Initiative (RNC), which operates across Moray, Aberdeen city and Aberdeenshire, estimates that by the end of this month it will have engaged with nearly 4,500 pupils in the past academic year.

Formed in 1997, the charity aims to provide support to schools and teachers with projects on food and farming.

According to the charity’s development officer, Rachel Heydon, the 2014/15 academic year has been a record year for the charity.

“We will finish the year with record numbers of more than 70 farm visits and more than 130 classroom speaker visits conducted,” said Mrs Heydon.

“We are fulfilling our aim of helping children and their teachers in the north-east of Scotland develop a greater understanding of farming and the working countryside.”

Last weekend, the charity was able to fund the transport costs for around 350 pupils from seven secondary schools in Moray to attend the Royal Highland Show.

Mrs Heydon said this was funded by a donation from the Royal Northern Agricultural Society (RNAS).

Work carried out by the charity in the past year includes taking more than 200 pupils to the Royal Northern Spring Show in February, and getting more than 1,000 pupils from 51 schools to grow potatoes as part of this year’s Totally Tatties project.

Each school has been given an education pack, project workbook and kit for growing potatoes. A link farmer will then come to talk to the class and advise children on their tattie-growing venture.

The potatoes, which are harvested this month, will then be entered into two competitions.

The first is for the best project submission – pupils have to keep records during the growing process – and for the heaviest crop.

“Totally Tatties has been going for a few years now so we are thinking about introducing a different project for next year,” said Mrs Heydon.

She said the charity was reliant on donations and support from the farming community to operate.

Last year a new portable farm, in the form of the Countryside Classroom on Wheels (CCOW), was launched by the charity as a result of a donation from RNAS and a £17,500 grant from NFU Scotland’s Centenary Trust.

Mrs Heydon said CCOW had been well received, however the charity was still struggling to find farmers willing to take the portable farm into city schools.

There were also challenges getting city children out on to farms, due to the cost of transportation, she added.

Any farmers wishing to help teach the next generation about food and farming are urged to contact Mrs Heydon.

She said involvement can range from helping escort children to the Royal Northern Spring Show to hosting a farm walk or going into a classroom to speak to pupils.

Those wishing to volunteer can get in touch with Mrs Heydon by emailing info@rnci.co.uk or calling 07716 424147.