RHET Highland CI

RHET Highland Countryside Initiative (RHET HCI) covers the Highlands, Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland Islands.

Our aim is to provide unbiased information on food production, agriculture and the countryside.

The main services we offer are Farm Visits, Classroom Talks, Projects and Curriculum-linked Resources. 

All RHET Farm Visits and Classroom Talks are tailored to suit each individual request.    

All of our services are FREE to schools and we are sometimes able to provide funding towards cost of bus travel.

In 2009-2010, RHET HCI facilitated 40 Farm Visits in the Highlands and 48 Classroom Speaker Talks in schools.

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Below are some of the ways in which RHET Highland CI can help add value to your teaching on farming, food and the countryside in your local area:

FARM VISITS

For Primary and Secondary schools.

RHET Highland CI has a number of farms in the Highlands & Islands, with a network of volunteer farmers and their families who kindly give their time to support RHET. 

A farm visit can support many areas of the curriculum such as environmental studies, IT and business studies, technology, science, mathematics and enterprise.  It supports the principles of A Curriculum for Excellence and complements many initiatives such as Eco Schools, Determined to Succeed and Health Promoting Schools.

We carry out regular risk assessments of all participating farms to the standard recommended in the Health and Safety Executive’s Guidelines on Educational Excursions. Around two weeks prior to the actual visit, the class teacher will visit the farm with our Project Co-ordinator to meet the farmer, walk the route and check over the risk assessment.

NB: Limited funding is available to cover transport costs for Farm Visits.

To book please visit the Farm Visit page, or contact the RHET Highland CI Project Co-ordinator (see bottom of page).

CLASSROOM TALKS

For Nursery, Primary and Secondary schools.  Also see Early Years Resource Box and Highland Rosie.

We have a network of trained classroom speakers, made up of volunteer farmers from the local area, who can visit your school and bring farming and the countryside to life. Once a booking has been confirmed, the speaker will contact the teacher to discuss the format, content of the session and curriculum links.  

Some ideas are:

1. The story of milk, from cow to carton
2. A day in the life of a farmer
3. Scottish agriculture
4. From farm to fork
5. Recycling on the farm
6. Careers in the countryside

These are only suggestions and all talks are tailored to meet individual needs. 

To book please visit the Classroom Talks page, or contact the RHET Highland CI Project Co-ordinator (see bottom of page).

RESOURCES

Schools can order a range of curriculum-linked classroom resources direct from RHET.  We have a number of interactive materials covering subjects such as meat production, farming across the seasons, standard grade Geography and a newly-developed Higher Biology online resource. 

All RHET resources are FREE to schools in Scotland.  Please see the Resources page of our website for the full list.

The following resources are available specifically to the RHET HCI area: 

Highland Rosie:
For Nursery and Primary schools

RHET Highland CI has their very own life-size milking cow called Highland Rosie.  Rosie can visit primary and nursery schools with suitable access. Rosie is provided in conjunction with a classroom speaker - usually her farmer - who will give a talk on dairy farming and milk production and give pupils the opportunity to “milk” the cow.

To book, please contact the RHET Highland CI Project Co-ordinator (see bottom of page). 

Early Years Resource Box:
For Nursery schools and classes

We have an Early Years Resource Box, which is usually provided in conjunction with a classroom speaker.

This is a treasure chest for children!  Filled with dressing-up clothes, CDs, DVDs, toys, puppets, books and farm products, it gives children an early experience of what is seen and heard on the farm and farming life in general.

The classroom speaker will bring the box to the school or nursery and talk to the children about food and farming for about 15 minutes. The box will then be left with the establishment for two weeks and collected by the Project Co-ordinator.

To book, please contact the RHET Highland CI Project Co-ordinator (see bottom of page). 

PROJECTS & EVENTS

As well as our farm visits, speakers and resources, RHET also run a number of events and curriculum-based projects throughout the year. 

Visit our Project & Events page for more details.

TEACHER TRAINING

RHET Highland Countryside Initiative can facilitate teacher training workshops for all age ranges. In the morning, primary teachers see where a RHET farm visit or classroom talk can fit in to the curriculum and how to go about planning a farm visit.  Additionally specific training for Geography teachers is available. 

All workshops are tailored to suit your requirements and, for both workshops, time in afternoon sessions is spent on the farm with a local farmer attending all day to input practical knowledge.

To arrange a session for you and your colleagues, please contact the RHET Highland CI Project Co-ordinator (see bottom of page).  Likewise, if your council or cluster group are interested, please let us know.

NEWS FROM RHET HIGHLAND CI