Primary school children from Dent CE Primary School near Sedbergh visited Lancaster University last week to expand upon their class teaching about farming and the environment.

The children started their visit with a trip to the University’s wind turbine, where they were shown around by Jonathan Mills, Carbon, Environment and Sustainability Manager. They were taught about how the University manages its energy and how the wind turbine helps to generate part of it.

Next, Dr Laura Giles from Lancaster Environment Centre ran a workshop with the children to teach them the science behind soil quality. Dr Giles is leading a Knowledge Transfer Partnership project between Lancaster Environment Centre, the Pentland Centre for Sustainability and Lake District Farmers, a premium wholesale meat production business based in Ulverston, Cumbria, to help develop a viable route map for progressing towards Net Zero meat production.

The lesson from Dr Giles presented a great chance for the children to get their hands dirty digging the soil to discover what soil is made of, looking for worms, and discussing how we might better look after our soil. Many of the children from Dent CE Primary School are from farming families, so they could combine their knowledge of farming, with the lesson from Dr Giles on sustainable farming practices.

One of the pupils said, “It was very fun, we dug some holes to look at different types of soil and had a school picnic. The wind turbine is very big, and it was really cool to go inside.”

Headteacher David Prescott said, “It was a superb opportunity for our pupils, especially those from farming backgrounds, to demonstrate their expert knowledge of farming, as well as learn about ways to protect and strengthen the natural environment around us.”

To find out more about the University's sustainable practices, visit our webpages.