06/11 Devon farm holds classes in the countryside

Devon farm holds classes in the countryside

A family farm in Devon has been accredited as suitable for public and
school visits under a national scheme to increase children's access to
farmland and provide safe, educational places for farmland and
countryside teaching.

Ian and Lyndsay Shears, of Highfield Farm, Topsham, near Exeter, have
been awarded a certificate under the Countryside Educational Visits
Accreditation Scheme (CEVAS) for their 118-acre mixed organic farm where
they have been running popular educational visits for local
schoolchildren for some years under the Defra Countryside Stewardship Scheme.

This allows schools to use the farm as a 'countryside classroom' to
assist in curricular studies, and to learn about agriculture and food
production, including environmentally friendly farming methods. Visits will
continue to be available when the farm enters into a new Higher Level
Environmental Stewardship Scheme agreement in November.

"We already have an education agreement under Defra's Countryside
Stewardship Scheme, which we entered in 1992, and it is a part of the farm
business that we wanted to develop," said Ian.

"Conservation has always been one of our top priorities at Highfield
and as parents ourselves, we think it is really important that children
and young people grow-up with a good understanding of farming, the
environment and countryside issues."

In addition to the usual farming activities, Ian and Lyndsay also have
a working threshing barn and a mill where children can see the wheat
being turned into flour.

"Children can learn so much from farm visits, including nature
conservation, geography, social history and even maths," added Ian. "We hope
our new CEVAS accreditation will attract more school visit to Highfield."

Farming Minister, Jeff Rooker, said:

"It is important that children have access to the countryside and have
the opportunity to experience farming at first hand. Farm visits allow
children to learn about where their food comes from, as well as wider
farming and countryside matters, in a fun and stimulating environment.

"CEVAS accreditation ensures a safe and educationally worthwhile farm
visits and gives peace of mind to teachers who are able to choose farms
safe in the knowledge that the farmers have the right skills to give
the children an interesting educational experience in a secure
environment.

"Defra actively encourages farmers who provide educational visits under
the Environmental Stewardship and Countryside Stewardship Schemes to
participate in the CEVAS accreditation."

CEVAS was developed by Farming and Countryside Education (FACE), in
partnership with Defra, the Countryside Agency, and DfES, and is
administered by the Access to Farms partnership. CEVAS is a voluntary scheme
which has been designed to help farmers have a better understanding of how
to provide safe facilities for children to visit, information that fits
with curricular studies, and to give them confidence in dealing with
school visits.

Details of this, and other farms in England offering educational visits
under the schemes can be found in the 'educational access site' section
of the website at: http://countrywalks.defra.gov.uk/

19/09 KITE FLYER FALLS FROM CLIFF

KITE FLYER FALLS FROM CLIFF

A 30 year old man who was flying a kite at the top of cliffs, near Noss
Mayo, Plymouth stepped backwards over the cliff and fell 50 feet,
earlier today.

Brixham Coastguard received a 999 call at just after 11.30 am today
from a member of the public. A rescue helicopter from RNAS Culdrose was
scrambled and arrived on scene approximately 30 minutes later with a
doctor onboard. The man was airlifted from the cliffs, where it is
believed that members of the public had been administering CPR. CPR was
continued on the flight to Derriford Hospital. The man was declared
deceased on arrival.

Sean Brooks, Brixham Coastguard Watch Manager says:
"The man was flying his kite 200 yards from the coastal cliff path when
the accident happened.

We would always recommend that people stay away from cliff edges. They
can be slippery when wet and are sometimes unstable. It can also be
easy to misjudge distances, especially when you are engaged in other
activities."

02/08 'Your pound, your choice' trial launches in Leicester and Plymouth

'Your pound, your choice' trial launches in Leicester and Plymouth
public get a say in awarding of National Lottery grants

The Big Lottery Fund and National Lottery operator, Camelot Group plc,
have today (1 August) launched a trial voting scheme called 'Your
Pound, Your Choice' in the cities of Leicester and Plymouth. The scheme
allows the public in each location to help decide which projects from a
shortlist of four should receive a Big Lottery Fund grant of up to
£50,000.

The trial, which was announced last month by Secretary of State for
Culture, Media and Sport, Tessa Jowell - will, for the first time allow
the public to cast their vote where they buy their lottery tickets.
Voting slips are available at approximately 130 participating National
Lottery retailers in each city (Leicester and Plymouth) from today to
Sunday 27 August.

The short-listed projects in Leicester are;

Bronte Close Green Space Project - Leicester City Council
To turn an overgrown, unmanaged area of community land in the
Braunstone area of Leicester into a toddlers playground and an area for casual
ball games. By transforming the site in Bronte Close, it will become an
area for the local community to use.

College Coffee Bar - Countesthorpe Community College
To create a coffee bar within Countesthorpe Community College. It will
give students, staff and visitors to the college somewhere to socialise
outside of their learning activities. The college is open until 10pm
each evening and is widely used by local community groups.

Sporting Venue - Rushey Mead School
To create a safe and accessible sports facility for the whole community
to use, with the aim of improving the health and well-being of local
people. This sports facility would also be used by Rushey Mead school.

'We Are Here!' Arts Project - 27a Access Artspace Ltd
To improve this community arts facility in Leicester City Centre, by
offering better access for people with disabilities. The money would help
pay for disabled access improvements, added security and a member of
staff to help manage the project and promote it to a wider audience.
The short-listed projects in Plymouth are:

Alexandra Park Redevelopment - Friends of Alexandra Park
To redevelop Alexandra Park in Keyham, Plymouth to mark its centenary
in 2007. The money would be used to create a memorial garden to those
who gave their lives in world conflicts and a garden area for people with
disabilities.

'The Big Splash' Boat Building Project - Horizons (Plymouth)
To involve young people in building a community boat. The project will
be run by Horizons in Devonport, Plymouth and one of the key aims is to
make the boat accessible to all, including people with disabilities.

Children's Sensory Garden - Give a Child a Chance
To create a safe and secure sensory garden at the Plymouth Child
Development Centre. The garden, in the Beacon Park/North Prospect area of
Plymouth would allow local children with disabilities to experience
different sounds, textures and smells.

'The Musical Snoozelum' Project - Plymouth Music Zone Ltd
To create a multi sensory room, including light and sound projectors,
for young people with disabilities to participate in music making. The
project would be run by Plymouth Music Zone in the Devonport/Brickfields
area.

Descriptions of each project appear on voting slips located near
lottery terminals in participating retailers. Players can choose which
projects should receive a Lottery grant by simply putting a cross next to
their favourite and entering the slip into a ballot box. At the end of
the four-week voting period, ballot boxes will be collected and votes
counted by an independent organisation. The two projects in each area
with the most votes will receive a grant of up to £50,000 each.

Commenting on the trial, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and
Sport, Tessa Jowell, said:

"The National Lottery is not just great fun for players, it is a major
funder of good causes in the UK with projects receiving £18.6 billion
so far. From developing local community centres to major public value
projects like the Eden Project and the Angel of the North, locally and
nationally Lottery money has helped change the face of the Nation.

"It is vital that the public feel that they have a genuine sense of
ownership of the National Lottery and real power to shape decisions and
influence outcomes. That's why this trial is so important. We have
already made the Lottery more responsive to the views of the public - the
'Your Pound, Your Choice' trial in Plymouth and Leicester will take that a
step further. I hope that Lottery players in both these cities will
make the most of this early opportunity to vote for their favourite good
cause project in their area."

Stephen Dunmore, Chief Executive of the Big Lottery Fund said: "This
is a ground-breaking opportunity for the people of Leicester and
Plymouth to participate in Lottery funding decisions where they live. It gives
the community a direct say, down their way, on which projects in their
area should receive a lottery award. This joint initiative aims to
provide a very real connection between local people and lottery
grant-making."

Camelot Chief Executive, Dianne Thompson said: "We are always
encouraging and supportive of any measures that increase the public's
involvement in the lottery - and research shows that the playing public support
the idea of being involved in making decisions on lottery grants. We're
delighted to be able to be an integral part of this project and have
invested a significant amount of time and resource with the Big Lottery
Fund to make it a meaningful and engaging trial."

The 'Your Pound, Your Choice' trial has been set up after research in
1995 by National Lottery distributors showed an overwhelming majority
(94 per cent) of the British public supported the idea of being more
involved in making decisions on grants. The joint initiative will see
Camelot - with its retail partners, running the trial in stores, while the
Big Lottery Fund will liaise closely with the selected projects, award
the winning grants, and administer the funding.

The trial builds on previous successful initiatives that Lottery
distributors have introduced to involve the public in making decisions on
funding - including the successful 'People's Millions' project which
launched last year on ITV.