LEAF Education has recorded its highest levels of engagement to date, with a five-fold increase in the number of young people it has worked with over the past year, according to its latest Impacts Report.
In the last academic year, LEAF Education has directly engaged with 74,044 students (aged 4 – 18 years), across 63,000 hours and has reached over a million on social media. The results show the significant impact it is having on educating and inspiring young people about food production, farming, and the environment through experiential on-farm experiences The report also highlights the steps LEAF Education, which is part of the sustainable farming organization LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming), is taking to raise awareness of the many varied and exciting career opportunities in the agricultural sector.
Other highlights from the report include:
- More than 36% of students who have participated in the National Food, Farming, and Environment Competition went on to study at land-based colleges
- Farming Fortnight, which returned for the third year (7th - 18th June 2021) saw more than 208,000 views of its resources and 3,335 downloads of its resources from the Countryside Classroom website.
LEAF Education Director of Education and Public Engagement, Carl Edwards, explained: “Farming provides an exciting way to tap into young people’s growing interest in more sustainable diets and climate change. Working with teachers, students, and farmers at a grassroots level, we are seeing a significant increase in the demand for our services. Learning how more sustainable food production and maintenance and enhancement of the environment go hand in hand, is critical in order to equip future generations with the knowledge and skills to help achieve net zero ambitions."
For more information about LEAF Education, click here and view the LEAF Education Impacts Report below.