Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Virtual lessons to zoom in on tech in farming
MORE than 30,000 school pupils will be learning about a different type of three Rs next month – ruminants, roosters and robotics in agriculture.
Farming leaders have devised a series of ‘Science Farm Live’ lessons to help increase knowledge about the countryside.
In the lessons, set to take place next month during British Science Week, farmers spanning the breadth of the country will take children through real-life farming situations while covering core science topics.
The programme has become the newest addition to NFU Education resources, joining projects like #LockdownLearning and the popular Farmvention competition, and provides the opportunity for British farming to reach its biggest-ever virtual classroom.
Minette Batters, president of the
NFU and a Wiltshire farmer, said: “It’s absolutely incredible to see so many students already registered for our Science Farm Live programme.
“Our education projects and teaching resources have always been incredibly popular among both teachers and pupils, and the swell of enthusiasm for these live lessons is a
These lessons are a fantastic way to give schoolchildren a taste of real-life farming MINETTE BATTERS
golden opportunity to put food and farming in front of more children than ever.
“These lessons are a fantastic way to give schoolchildren a taste of reallife farming and inspire them about the scientific opportunities within agriculture, while covering key elements within the curriculum.”
The free lessons will be held between March 8-12 and are designed so they can be easily delivered if children are still learning from home or back in school. The programme includes:
Live lambing with sheep farmer Sioned Davies;
Discovering future farming tech with experts at Harper Adams University;
The life cycles of chickens, starting with hatching, with the founder of Eggucation, Deb Howe;
Vet school with dairy vet Navaratnam Partheeban;
A farming-themed climate science show with Welsh science museum Techniquest.
Mrs Batters, who runs an arable and livestock enterprise near Salisbury in Wiltshire, added that the lessons offer a “chance for children to get excited about science and learn about farming”, while also taking some of the pressure off our educators.
“The past 12 months have been really tough for teachers, pupils and parents alike,” she said. “We still have a few weeks to go until British Science Week and we want to get even more pupils signed up. I ask all farmers to reach out to their local primary schools and encourage them to get involved.”
To find out more about the Science Farm Live programme, what the live lessons include and how to sign up visit
FORMER star Emma Samms says she is still “massively affected” by long Covid almost a year after contracting the disease.
The actress, 60, who lives in the Cotswolds, played Fallon Carrington Colby in the hit ’80s US show.
She contracted coronavirus March last year.
She told Good Morning Britain she is “still massively affected by long Covid and really frustrated by it”.
Asked whether she has been given any guidance on how long her symptoms will last, she said: “Nobody really knows because they don’t know about long Covid.”
She previously told how she had to spend “sometimes two or three days in bed”.
It is “much the same”, Samms told the ITV show.
“There are some good days and some bad days.” in
But she said: “I’m aware I could have had a much worse experience. It’s all relative.”
The British actress came up with the idea for an online Dynasty reunion to raise money for the cause.
Jack Coleman, who played Steven Carrington in Dynasty, said: “It’s really horrible to realise that almost a year later it is still going on. This money is obviously desperately needed.”
Presenter Kate Garraway, whose husband Derek Draper is still in hospital with coronavirus after being admitted with symptoms last year, told Samms: “I know you said that even talking to us and having to get up this morning might mean you’d have to take to your bed for three days.
“So thank you... we wish you rest and some kind of recovery soon.”
THE West has just endured the coldest week of this winter – but compared to 1917 it was positively balmy.
Those working outdoors or popping out for their daily exercise this week may have quipped to colleagues or friends that the weather was a bit Baltic.
But as these newly rediscovered photos from the archives of one of the West’s oldest estates show, it was genuinely Alpine in 1917.
The curator at Longleat has discovered photographs of First World War soldiers recuperating from injuries in Wiltshire pushing a makeshift toboggan across the frozen Half Mile Pond.
The pond, which is directly outside the main Longleat House, froze this week, but not to the extent anyone would be confident of grabbing their ice skates.
One of the images shows Lady Kathleen Thynne, a daughter of the 5th Marquess of Bath, skating on the ice with an officer. Another depicts four wounded soldiers pushing a makeshift toboggan across the frozen lake.
“The severely cold weather of late January and early February 1917 led to Longleat’s lakes freezing over. The ice on Half Mile Pond was over a foot thick and patients, staff and members of the Thynne family went skating,” said Longleat curator, Dr James Ford.
“Violet, 5th Marchioness of Bath noted that this was only the second time she had seen the lakes freeze thick enough to skate on,” he said.
He added that the South West recorded large snow falls of up to 14 inches in the winter of 1917.
A temperature of minus 19.4C was recorded in Wellington on February 7 and, even as late as April, it was still minus 5C in some areas.
During the First World War about 100 beds were put up at Longleat for injured soldiers, with one bedroom turned into an operating theatre.
The first patients to be treated at Longleat were 31 Belgian soldiers who had fought to defend West Flanders after the retreat of the British Expeditionary Force.
Dr Ford said: “The photographs
The photographs provide a fascinating insight into the daily lives of the soldiers as they recuperated. It must have been quite a shock to have come from the horrors of the battlefront to the grandeur and comfort of Longleat House DR JAMES FORD
provide a fascinating insight into the daily lives of the soldiers as they recuperated and recovered from their injuries.
“It must have been quite a shock to have come from the horrors of the battlefront to the grandeur and comfort of Longleat House.”
During the war some 2,000 soldiers were treated at Longleat, including victims of the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic.
John, Viscount Weymouth and heir to Longleat, was killed aged 20 in February 1916 at Hulluch, and Lieutenant Colonel Lord Alexander Thynne DSO, youngest brother of the 5th Marquess, was killed in September 1918 near Bethune.
AWILTSHIRE artist who gave up a corporate career that made her “miserable” to launch a company promoting positive mental health has been named one of the UK’s best small businesses of 2020.
Anita Perry scooped the accolade for her online gift shop, Sugar and Sloth, at the Lloyds Bank Small Business Awards, which celebrates the achievements of local companies around Britain.
The Chippenham-based entrepreneur started designing animated characters as an escape from a job which, she says, saw her “crying in the toilets every day”.
Anita launched the business three years ago and now sells her designs, which she has turned into cards, colouring books, clothes and other gifts, through her shop. Her company also creates bespoke monthly subscription boxes aimed at promoting positive mental health, with items such as enamel pins, sew-on patches, postcards and calendar pages.
“Conversations about mental health have, quite rightly, become much easier and commonplace in the last few years, but there’s always more that can be done to reduce stigma and help people feel less alone,” said Ms Perry.
“I decided to take the leap from my corporate job and create Sugar and Sloth to do exactly that. I personally design all our products and love being able to provide a bit of escapism and fun for our customers.”
With 1,500 subscribers to the boxes, Anita and her team wanted to do more with their community of customers when lockdown began in March 2020 to help keep people connected and prevent loneliness.
Sugar and Sloth began hosting weekly online tea parties on Facebook, encouraging people to play games and socialise virtually. The business also created a free text service called the Happy Text Club, with subscribers receiving a message each week.
“When Covid-19 hit, our orders continued but I knew we could do more to help people at such an isolating time for so many,” Ms Perry explained.
“We started the tea parties with what we call our ‘besties’ – our monthly subscribers – and it’s been a huge success. The feedback we’ve had from the community we’ve created has been overwhelmingly positive. It’s provided a safe space for many customers who are living alone.”
As part of the award win, Anita will receive a one-on-one mentoring session with businesswoman Sharmadean Reid MBE, who is the founder of Beautystack – a networked marketplace app for influential beauty professionals.
Gareth Oakley, managing director of Business Banking at Lloyds Banking Group, added: “Last year was undoubtedly tough for many, but so many inspiring stories have emerged from the pandemic.
“Anita is a perfect example of someone who is community-minded and used their skills and resources to create something positive for others. Her caring and innovative attitude is humbling to see and she is truly deserving of this award.”
Almost 900 UK businesses were nominated by their local communities for the awards and 24 winners were picked based on how creatively and quickly they adapted to events since March, and how they went over and above expectations.