Ian Brown: engaging primary school children through farm life
Ian Brown (CF 2019) is the Chair of Ouseburn Farm Charity in Newcastle, which provides the local community with opportunities to learn about nature through engagement with farm life. During the pandemic, the farm has been in discussion with local schools about ways they can help vulnerable children in the community who are struggling to reintegrate into school life since the Covid-19 pandemic began.
Ian will use his grant to design and deliver a pilot project for local disadvantaged primary school children who are experiencing social, emotional or mental health needs caused by the pandemic. Over a six-week period, 16 students will visit the farm weekly and engage in animal-assisted therapeutic techniques and outdoor learning, led by a qualified animal-assisted therapist. They will then be encouraged to share what they have learnt with their classmates using photos, video footage and artefacts that chronicle their experience at the farm. Ian will test the pilot to determine what interventions are the most effective, and hopes to develop a scaleable and replicable model for more school children in the area.
Ian’s Fellowship to Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Kenya, South Africa and Tanzania in 2019 explored how to transform lives and landscapes with trees. It was supported by The Prince’s Countryside Fund.