BARLEYLANDS Farm Park has been named as the national winner of the Clarissa Dickson Wright Award at the 2021 Countryside Alliance Awards.

The award was created in 2013 to celebrate businesses that are enthusiastic about education and wish to ignite a passion for food. It was the farm's education programme, which sees nearly 20,000 children visit every year, that sparked particular interest from the judges.

Barleylands have developed the storytelling of food and farming through the Farm Park and indoor Discovery Centre for nearly four decades, in addition to their inspiring educational programme.

Education Officer, Karen Watson, has a dedicated role within the company where she has created a series of fully immersive themed school days that are tailored to all aspects of the curriculum, all relating back to food and farming, which include cooking from scratch.

"We are extremely proud of our education programme, now in its 37th year, and how it has evolved. Since the introduction of our cookery workshops in 2009, we have welcomed over 130,000 schoolchildren, who have rolled up their sleeves and cooked in our purpose-built cookery classrooms."

Karen added: "It is the best job in the world, and the comments we receive from schools tell us how important it is to offer such a unique programme. A visit to Barleylands is the difference between a useful school visit and a truly memorable one, inspiring young minds, and encouraging a love for healthy, tasty, quality food sustainably grown."

Chris Philpot, owner of Barleylands commented: "it is fantastic that Karen and the rest of the Education Team are getting the national recognition that they deserve for all of the hard work that they put in to delivering our unique educational programme".

About Barleylands Farm Park

Barleylands' Education Programme was started by the Philpot family over 30 years ago. Today, the education team welcomes nearly 20,000 school children a year with their hands on activities, including cooking from scratch with produce they have seen growing on the farm.

About The Clarissa Dickson Wright Award

The Clarissa Dickson Wright Award was instituted in 2013 with Clarissa's full support and based on her beliefs. She believed that farmers and producers needed to help the public connect with their food and that we should honour them when they get it right. This award is particularly focused on businesses or individuals who are keen to educate, inform and ignite a passion for food.