Educating the next generation is something that is very important to us at NFU Cymru and so we were pleased that once again we were able to offer live, bilingual lessons and resources to school children across Wales and the UK.

Along with the NFU Education team, we put on four interactive farming lessons which took place during British Science Week which saw over 20,000 Welsh primary school pupils sign up. In these virtual lessons we were able to highlight how farmers are farming sustainably while producing top quality, nutritious food.

Once again this year, there was a dedicated 45-minute Welsh language lesson which was hosted by farmer and sheepdog trainer, Erin McNaught, who visited mixed farmer, Llyr Jones, to learn about all the sustainable innovations he has on his farm. Erin also spoke with Dylan from Innovis to discuss their Breed 4 Ch4nge programme and finally joined Elwen Roberts, Hybu Cig Cymru’s Consumer Executive, in her kitchen to make a zero-waste dish from local and seasonal ingredients. The lesson finished with a live and interactive question and answer session, where pupils were able to quiz Erin and Llyr from their school classrooms.

It is absolutely crucial that we engage with our school pupils, who are the next generation of consumers, about the food they consume and how it is produced. The fact that these lessons are curriculum-aligned, and bilingual is a win-win for teachers and pupils alike, while the cross-curricular tasks that are also available mean that learning can continue after the live lesson has finished.

The pupils asked some great questions during the lessons, which showed the quality of engagement that Erin, Llyr and all the contributors had with their audience.

The lessons are available to watch again in English and Welsh and teachers can download free lessons resources and activities for their class by registering on www.nfueducationlive.com