| News
New outdoor classroom for Worcestershire farm
thanks to grant
A dairy farm in Worcestershire that also hosts learning visits for youngsters has built a new outdoor classroom after
getting a £23,000 business grant.
arried couple Rob
and Emma
Harrison work in
the farm
partnership of JE
Harrison. The core
business is dairy farming which Mr
Harrison runs.
Mrs Harrison has been running
outdoor learning visits on
Sandfield Farm near Evesham
since 2009. The visits are made by
M
pre-booked groups including pre-
schools, holiday clubs and youth
clubs, as well as children who
have special educational needs.
During visits, the children learn
about the countryside, farming
and the environment.
JE Harrison is the latest
recipient of a grant from the
Worcestershire LEADER
Programme. LEADER is part of the
Rural Development Programme for
06 | Farming Monthly | April 2017
England and is delivered locally by
Worcestershire County Council
and the Worcestershire Local
Action Group on behalf of Defra.
Mr Harrison said: "The visitor
room will increase the
opportunities for the visitors to
come throughout the year and to
host larger groups. More visitors
on the farm will increase
employment levels and turnover.
"We applied for a LEADER grant
without any help from a
consultant. It was a huge amount
of work but the LEADER team
were very supportive and guided
us in the right direction. The
application form helped firm up
our ideas and create a detailed
business plan. Without the
LEADER grant, our business
would have created an asset on a
much smaller scale, which would
not have bought the benefits of
such increased turnover."
The focus of the LEADER
programme is on growing the
economies of rural communities
by enabling local people to identify
and implement solutions to local
problems.
The project has received
funding from the European
Agricultural Fund for Rural
Development under the Rural
Development Programme for
England. The Department for
Environment, Food and Rural
Affairs is the Managing Authority
for the Rural Development
Programme for England.
Anyone interested in applying
for a LEADER grant should visit
www.worcestershire.gov.uk/LEADE
R or call Programme Manager
Katie Ainsworth on 01905 843992.
www.farmingmonthly.co.uk