On Tuesday 17th June 2026, over 300 pupils from 11 primary and junior schools across Hampshire spent the day at the New Forest Show Showground in Brockenhurst – not for a school trip in the traditional sense, but for a full day of hands-on discovery covering food production, farming, conservation and the unique heritage of the New Forest.

The Food, Farming & Forest Discovery Day is run by the New Forest Agricultural Show Society as part of its charitable mission to connect young people with the countryside – and this year’s event was one of the biggest and most varied yet.

What the day involved

Pupils didn’t sit and listen – they got stuck in. Activities were led by local farmers, conservation organisations, craftspeople and countryside specialists, with children rotating around stations throughout the day.

Highlights included:

• Meeting live animals – sheep, lambs, cattle, goats and a New Forest pony, with handlers from Hatchett Herd of Dexters, Storms Farm, the British Horse Society and the New Forest Pony Breeding & Cattle Society on hand to explain farming, commoning and animal welfare
• Making cheese and butter with Lyburn Cheese, testing soil and identifying grain with Sparsholt College, and discovering what British farmers actually grow with stewards from the Show’s Old Time Farming section
• Learning about the New Forest through the National Park Authority, New Forest Heritage Centre, Verderers, Forestry England, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, Countryside Education Trust and New Forest Young Commoners
• Traditional crafts – weaving with the New Forest Weavers, Spinners & Dyers Guild, and leathercraft with Hampshire Coppice Group & JBS Antler & Leathercraft
• The Sheep Show – nine breeds plus a live shearing demonstration
• Beekeeping with the New Forest Beekeepers

Why does it matter?

For many children, a day like this is their first real encounter with where food comes from – or with the people and traditions that shape the New Forest landscape.

Aaron Lawford, Chairman of the New Forest Agricultural Show Society, summed it up well:

“Watching hundreds of children engage with farming, food production and the unique environment of the New Forest was genuinely inspiring. Many young people today have little opportunity to see first hand where their food comes from, so providing that experience is an important part of our charitable mission. If even a handful of those children left with a greater appreciation of farming, the countryside and the people who work within it, then the day was a tremendous success.”

The event sits at the heart of what the Society does beyond the Show itself – using New Park Showground, networks and expertise to bring education to life in a way that a classroom simply can’t.