Acorn Farm at Open Farm Weekend

What a brilliant weekend! The Acorn Farm project was at Brook Hall Estate and Gardens for schools day at the Bank of Ireland Open Farm Weekend talking about eating healthily and sustainability with the next generation.

More than 120 students from Eglinton Community Playgroup, Strathfoyle Nursery School, St Brigid's Primary School and Hollybush primary school got up close with the amazing plants behind a school dinner classic and learned a little bit more about the journey food takes before ending up on our plate.

Open Farm Weekend was established in 2012 as an annual showcase event for the Northern Ireland farming industry. It aims to help the public, particularly those from a non-farming background, better understand how our food is produced and to raise awareness of the importance of the local supply chain. The initiative hopes to reconnect the public with the countryside and the local farming community which is responsible for producing the food we all enjoy.

This is the second year that the Acorn Farm project has teamed up with Brook Hall Estate & Gardens to bring our message of healthy, seasonal and sustainable food to visitors.

Children from the four schools made curry paste and tasted different styles of curry sauce while finding out more about the plants that give curry its flavour. They also toured the Brook Hall estate and spent time learning about how plants grow with Acorn Farm partner Community Garden Support.

Acorn Farm will transform a derelict site within St Columb's Park into a living, working farm, providing education, training, and activities to people from across Derry City and Strabane. Developing Healthy Communities is partnered with the Acorn Farm project to deliver I Can Cook, a healthy and sustainable cooking and eating programme.

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