CHILDREN from 42 schools in Northumberland and Tyne and Wear will be finding out about farming at next week’s annual Countryside Day.

The Glendale Agricultural Society (GAS) event next Thursday, June 9, will bring 1,625 first school pupils and 320 adults to Wooler in Northumberland in one of the largest rural life educational events of its kind.

Activities on the day will include auctioneering, dry stone walling, poultry plucking, butchery, planting, game rearing, fly fishing, sheep shearing, stick dressing and wool spinning.

The event has 65 displays, which are staffed by more than 150 farmers, 50 stewards and food producers, landowners and rural organisations.

This year’s theme will be Grow Eat Grow and an allotment, especially set up for the event, will introduce children to food production.

Jayne Watson, chair of the GAS Children’s Countryside Day, said: “Grow Eat Grow is a way of encapsulating the basic principles of ‘you are what you eat’.

“With a difficult economy and growing concern about food miles, growing your own is becoming more and more popular.

“Many of those attending are more used to an urban environment so we hope that this will encourage them to think about growing some food at home or even thinking about their own allotment.”