by Loreena Walsh | Photography, Slider Features
My family are from a rural area, born and bred.
Me, I was born in the city, and I remember vividly when mum and dad told me we were moving to “the country”. I was 8 and I thought everyone would be watching black and white television and wearing colonial style clothing. (Nope I’m not joking, the thoughts of a child huh!) We still live in regional Australia, and my kids are more worldly and travelled than I was, but it’s still very important to me that they understand and appreciate rural Australia and the farmers that put food on our plates.
So, to help achieve that, as I’d already mentioned, we were excited to be participating in Farm Day. We headed off last weekend to Booroomooka Angus Stud, and I have some wonderful stories to share. But first up, here’s some photos of our amazing day.
We’re linking up for Wordless Wednesday too.
by Loreena Walsh | Education, Family Travel, Slider Features
If you take a little peek into our lives, it’s not a hidden fact that we love the bush.
Our home base is in regional Australia, you’ll spot dead giveaways such as Akubra Hats, Bullzye & R M Williams Clothing, RM Williams boots, plenty of Rodeos, with a few paddocks and horse rides thrown into the mix. It’s no secret that we love regional and rural Australia and everything it has to offer.
So it’s with absolute, great pleasure that we get to share with you a wonderful initiative that families across Australia can take part in.
What is Farm Day?
Farm day is simple, it’s a day that brings city families together with farming families to promote fun, friendship and a greater understanding of how important farming is to all Australians. Started in 2006, Farm day is held annually. Each year, city families and farming families register their interest and are then matched together and get to spend a day together to learn, forge friendships and have lots of fun on the way. Definitely a wonderful opportunity to promote the importance of the Australian farming industries, and also to provide a wonderfully educational day for children (and adults too) with lots of fun involved.
Who Can Take Part in Farm Day?
Farm Day was specifically designed for families with school age children. This however is not a strict requirement and other family groups can be accommodated if their is a suitable match available. There are options for farming families who wish to host a city family for a day, and also for city families who would like to experience farm life for a day and learn about rural industries and Australia’s agricultural lifestyle. It’s definitely a great way for children who don’t otherwise have much contact with farms to get hands on and learn about how their food is getting from the paddock to the plate!
How to Sign Up?
Registration needs to be renewed each year to take part in Farm Day. For 2012 the meet ups take place on the 26th & 27th May, there is still some time to register. Registrants are then contacted by the lovely team and hopefully a suitable family match is found. It’s not always possible to find matches for every family, but every effort is made to do so.
Why We are Taking Part?
So you may be wondering why we’re participating in Farm Day? We’ve had a fair bit of insight into farming having lived near, on and around farms in the past, and our children, have raised their own piglet, chickens and veggie patches. Don’t sound like much of a city family do we? I can definitely say that we aren’t, we’re much more country, but we’re not farmers, and while we understand it, we don’t live the extraordinary lifestyle that farmers do.
It’s for this reason when we were approached to participate this year, we jumped on board without hesitation. While we aren’t the typical “city family” the goal for us in participating in Farm Day is so we get to help rally awareness for this wonderful initiative. To share with our readers and visitors just what you can expect by joining up and taking part in this amazing opportunity. We’ll be sharing the details of the process of signing up, right through to the planning, participation and follow up. There will be lots of photos and videos too.
If you’ve found this post in time for the 2012 Farm Day then be sure to register. If not, then stay in touch over at the Farm Day Oz Facebook Page so you don’t miss out on the next opportunity!
