George Fleming kindly provided a tour of his family farm at Aberbothrie, Airlie this week to pupils from Longforgan Primary. The trip was arranged by RHET as part of the prize to Prithvi Sudarshan, one of the two winners from the 2018 Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT) Perth and Kinross Art Competition, his winning entry earning him a farm visit to Aberbothrie with his class.
The entries were judged in December 2018 with the judging panel made up of representatives from competition sponsors Blackadders, Julian Jardine Art Studio, The Royal Highland Educational Trust (RHET) and Perth and Kinross Education department.
The tour around Aberbothrie began with a short walk and the chance to hear about some of the work George and his son James do on the farm and to see the flood defences, which help hold back water from the River Ericht and River Isla, between which much of the farm is situated. Then onto a bus, the youngsters were driven around the farm, stopping to see young pigs, potato storage, the grain store and some of the machinery used on the farm. They saw how the potato grading system works and were surprised at how quiet the machine was!
George talked the pupils through the sights on the tour, including the wildlife seen on the way, the need for hedgerows as corridors of safety, wild spaces where the wildlife can thrive, and various crops including winter barley, carrots, raspberries, oilseed rape and potatoes. They also saw the bee hives and were told how important bees are for pollination in the countryside.
Iona Laing, Education and Events Officer, Game & Wildlife Conservation Trust said: “The pupils really enjoyed their day, asking lots of good questions about soil health, animal welfare and predation, and were diligent in filling in their worksheets to help them remember their day and to learn about some of the wildlife management aspects carried out on the farm.”
More information about the 2018 art competition winning entries at this link.