UNDAUNTED by the impossibility of running its usual 'noisy and mobbed' Discovery Centre at this year’s Royal Highland Showcase, the Royal Highland Educational Trust has put together a virtual package of farm-themed learning and entertainment that kids can access online.

With more than 550 schools already signed up to take part, this year's online Discovery Centre looks set to be a busy portal into the world of farming, not least because the Covid pandemic has sharpened interest in food and where it comes from.

Away from show week, RHET has continued to play its role in working with schools and teachers to connect classrooms with life on the land in Scotland, through farm visits, storytelling and digital stories. Its volunteer network may have been constrained by the challenges of the pandemic, but has nonetheless been busy on farms, and in rural communities, generating material so children will still have a chance to glimpse how their food is produced.

So the Royal Highland Showcase website will has a dedicated RHET Discovery Centre page packed with video stories, presentations and activities, which will go live from Monday June 14 for the duration of the event. There is also the opportunity for teachers to join the RHET team for an informative webinar ‘Lets go Outdoors’ on Thursday June 17, and up to 100 teachers have already signed up for this.

"Our RHET Discovery Centre hybrid will never replace the normally noisy and mobbed centre, but we hope to entice visitors and children from further afield who might not have been able to attend the show and we hope this will broaden the appeal for the future," said the new RHET chairperson, Alistair Marshall.

RHET's team of regional project coordinators plan to launch an exciting new educational opportunity during the showcase event. This project will formally kick off in September, running for 10-months under the theme of The Year of Beef.

Fresh back from the holidays, pupils can start in September with 'The Beef Story' and move through to 'The journey of sustainable Beef' from experiences and live visits to farms in Scotland, if restrictions allow. During development and for the roll out of the project, RHET has been working closely with the Health and Education team at Quality Meat Scotland to improve the understanding of the sustainable credentials of Scotland's livestock herd. Engaging with various industry partners, the project will link to learning outcomes whist exploring Scottish food production.

RHET works closely with many local authority educational partners and is supported by RHASS, the Scottish Government, SRUC and many other generous sponsors, but is keen to link up with new partners on these new initiatives for the 2021/22 academic term. If interested, contact the team on rhetinfo@rhass.org.uk