YOUNG gardeners had a soup-er day out visiting a farm.

Children from Symondsbury Primary School’s gardening club extended took their green fingers to the kitchen during a fun and food-filled visit to Washingpool Farm, Bridport, last week.

The day, run and supported by the Discover Farming project, encouraged the pupils to understand the journey food takes from field to fork and learn more about the many different aspects to modern farming and food production.

The youngsters spent the morning out on the farm, harvesting leeks and learning about local and seasonal vegetable production.

They then moved to the outdoor kitchen, where they worked together to cook soup for lunch.

The afternoon saw them exploring the farm further and feeding the animals.

The day formed an important part of Discover Farming’s work to encourage children to understand farming and become passionate about it and provided a fantastic opportunity for the children to learn some new ideas that they can take back with them to their school garden and vegetable patch.

Outdoor exploration, gardening and environmental understanding are all parts of Symondsbury School’s ethos, it says, and the gardening club is one of the school’s most popular activities.

Headteacher Emma Roberts said that the experience proved to be inspirational for the children.

She said: “What a wonderful day the children had at Washingpool Farm.

“We want to thank Vicky and Katie and the team at Discover Farming for all their hard work in making this such a fun, educational and memorable experience for our gardeners. I know they are all now champing at the bit to start sowing and planting in our garden at Symondsbury. Two of our school values are ‘responsibility’ and ‘relationships’ and this day really did show the children how we can take responsibility for growing our own food, reducing air miles and eating super healthily.

“While the partnership we now have with Washingpool and Discover Farming represents just how much we put local relationships at the heart of our ethos.

“ I only wish I could have got to taste that delicious soup.”

n Discover Farming is an educational project run by the Melplash Agricultural Society.

For more information, visit discoverfarming.co.uk/