City school children to get hands-on experience with wool

20 Sep '08

2 min read

Inner city primary school children will be getting some hands-on experience about wool when over 3000 pupils enjoy a trip to the countryside – but it's all taking place in east London.

As part of the British Wool Marketing Board's continuing commitment to educating future generations about the value of wool as a sustainable resource, the board is supporting Countryside Live – a country fair for inner-city children being organised by the Countryside Foundation for Education whose headquarters are in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire.

The event, being held at Lee Valley Park, Leyton, East London on September 25th and 26th, will provide children with the opportunity to see a wide range of activities that take place in the countryside including educational demonstrations staged by leading organisations representing agricultural and countryside interests.

“Understanding where wool comes from and how it can be used is something that will be a new experience for many inner-city children – and even some of their teachers,” said Barbara Brannigan of the Countryside Foundation for Education who will also be encouraging children to take part in a wool craftwork session at the event.

The British Wool Marketing Board has supplied the event with a large range of fleeces from some of the UK's 40 different breeds.

Each fleece – from a variety of hill and lowland sheep such a Suffolk, Jacob, Herdwick and Swaledale – will enable children to assess the different qualities of wool for each breed depending on whether it is farmed in the uplands or lowlands.

“It's important that we teach children about the importance of wool. It's a sustainable and natural fibre and the sheep that produce it play an important part in the way the countryside looks.

“Learning about wool makes an important contribution to educating young people about the environment,” said Barbara

British Wool Marketing Board

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