The Bayer-LEAF Education Awards celebrate the very best agricultural education initiatives on-farm, in the classroom, or online. At the end of last month, finalists and invited guests met for a celebratory lunch at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens to find out who had won the prestigious awards.
Attendees heard some amazing stories of work with young people and saw film clips of all the finalists in the categories of Primary School Partnership, Secondary School Partnership and Innovative Learning. The overall winner was declared as APS Produce, a company that has worked with 500 children from local schools at their high-tech tomato-production greenhouse facilities around the country.
Head Judge, Janet Hickinbottom, National Education Officer at Linking Environment And Farming (LEAF) Education said, 'The competition this year was extremely fierce but the judges were really impressed by the way that the APS team have been able to make farming and the environment relevant to all parts of the school curriculum. We were delighted to present them with the Innovative Learning Award, and then the Overall Winner’s Award.'
Michael Muncey, Head of Business for Bayer Crop Science in the UK, added: 'APS Produce (pictured) is a very worthy winner. It is fantastic to see the sheer enthusiasm of people trying to reconnect young people with where their food comes from. Farmers, growers and other organisations up and down the country are doing some amazing work when it comes to making UK agriculture relevant to the next generation, and we believe it is worth celebrating their achievements.'
A Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Nina Hatch, manager of Mount Pleasant School Farm, near Birmingham, for her exceptional services to countryside educational activities over a prolonged period.
