155 primary 6 pupils from the Perth & Kinross area took part in a free Food & Farming Day organised by the Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) Perth & Kinross and sponsored by the Scottish Government (Food and Drink Industry Division).

On 3rd October Emily Grant (current chairperson of RHET Perth & Kinross) of Coldrochie Farm opened her farm gates to pupils from Pitlochry, Balhousie, St Stephen’s, Dunbarney, Collace and Oakbank Primary Schools. There were over twenty members of the rural community who had given up a day to help educate children about all things food and farming.

There were seven interactive activity stations which pupils moved round throughout the day learning about chicken and potato production, sheep, gamekeeping, the red meat industry, Scottish Natural Heritage and tractors. Each of the activities focused in some way on the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) subjects. One of the technological highlights was an excellent display of hands-free tractor driving. “The children were amazed at the level of technology in tractors, especially autotrac - steering hands free by satellite.” Andrew Stirrat, HRN Tractors.

“Thank you so much for an excellent day. The pupils were engaged from start to finish and the learning all linked to skills and careers as well. The day was incredibly well organised and catered for, and it ran incredibly smoothly because of this.” Ms McKinnon, Dunbarney Primary School.

“Taking part in RHET Food and Farming days like this one at Coldrochie is a great way to help children make the links about where their food comes from and how it is produced. The children were all very enthusiastic and answered all our questions during our healthy eating session.” Jennifer Robertson, Health & Education Manager – Quality Meat Scotland.