Fresh Air

Fresh Air

Brackenhurst campus - March 2009

Fresh Air was a two-day activity that offered students the chance to take part in a range of agriculture-based sessions in the idyllic surroundings of NTU’s Brackenhurst campus. Activities involved visiting, feeding and learning about animals, as well as learning about how life on a farm works in general.

The days started early, as you might expect from farm life, and to begin with the students sat in a circle and did a few ice-breaker activities to get to know each other. Then they were put into separate groups and sent off to cover a range of different activities.

The session at the equestrian Centre involved getting students to groom a horse and fill in worksheets about the grooming tools, horse markings and colours. Then they got a tour of the veterinary nursing centre and animal unit, with an experienced vet giving them a talk about his profession.

A horticulture session gave the pupils a chance to work and play on a forklift truck and digger and practice tractor and trailer reversing. The animal management sessions gave them the chance to see the care and welfare of domestic and exotic animals in captivity.

A student who took part told us about her favourite part of the activity: “During the two days I spent at Fresh Air I got the chance to experience a wide variety of things ranging from tractor driving to holding new born lambs. As a group we got to hold the lambs and listen to the farmer as he explained what goes on during the lambing period. The lambs were so cute! It was an amazing opportunity to see the sheep throughout the different stages of their growth.”

View all the action and fun at this event with photos of the students who took part.