MORE than 200 P6 students travelled to Duchlage Farm, part of Luss Estates, to learn about food, farming and agriculture at The Royal Highland Education Trust’s annual Food and Farming Day in the Dumbarton, Lomond and Renfrew (DLR) area.

Despite the challenging weather on both days, the children were split into groups before moving around the six learning stations positioned across the farm.

These learning stations were run by volunteers and farmers from local agri-businesses.

Topics covered included dairy and milk manufacturing, farm machinery, biodiversity, game keeping, livestock and cereals.

Iain Wilkinson, Rural Business Manager at Luss Estates, said: "We are delighted to be able to continue in our support of the important work which RHET (Royal Highland Educational Trust) carry out.

"Education is crucial for the future of the rural economy as well as to safeguard and protect the environment for future generations."

Sheila Bannerman, the Project Coordinator for RHET DLR, was responsible for organising the day as well as making sure it ran smoothly and to schedule.

Sheila also organises classroom talks and farm visits for schools in the DLR area.

The Food and Farming Day was provided by RHET in association with Quality Meat Scotland, Scotland’s Natural Heritage, Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park and members of the local agricultural community.

The Scottish Government has also provided significant funding for these events since 2010.

Food and Farming Days are typically annual events that are organised throughout the academic year by RHET Project Co-ordinators across Scotland.

These events give pupils the opportunity to learn first-hand from agricultural and farming experts and to participate in various educational activities on the day.

The Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET) was established in 1999. It provides free resources, farm visits and classroom speakers which allow children to learn more about Scottish farming, food and countryside. RHET currently interfaces with around one in eight of Scottish schoolchildren through 12 local Countryside Initiatives. RHET takes over 17,000 children out to farms each academic year and provides over 27,000 children with a classroom speaker talk.