James Dyson Foundation launches free schools resource, teaching children about sustainable food production
The UK produces less than 60% of the food it consumes, relying heavily on imports from other countries1. To encourage more young people to see how engineering and technology can help create more sustainable farming practices, the James Dyson Foundation has launched a free teaching resource for primary schools around the UK. Engineering Solutions: The Future of Farming is a series of lesson plans, hands-on activities, and experiments to inspire the next generation of agriculture enthusiasts and budding engineers. It is the 5th resource the Foundation has created as part of its mission to address the UK’s annual shortfall of 69,000 engineers2.
What's inside
The new Engineering Solutions: The Future of Farming teachers' pack introduces students at Primary level to the farming industry, food production, and how engineering and technology play a vital role in the future of sustainable farming.
The pack contains six lesson plans covering topics across agriculture and engineering, such as soil types, renewable energy, and sustainable farming practices. Students will learn from interactive activities such as collecting and analysing soil samples around their school, building a pinwheel and testing its durability, and designing a sustainable food packaging prototype.
Each lesson plan is accompanied by worksheets, posters, and videos that teachers can flexibly integrate into their timetables. There is also an additional free resource box, that schools can apply for, allowing students to grow their own strawberry plants, and dig further into how food is grown, harvested, monitored and improved through engineering principles.
This resource has been designed to complement the Science, Design and Technology, and Geography curricula at Key Stage 1 and 2.
"The James Dyson Foundation creates free educational resources to inspire the next generation of engineers. Our resources challenge students to think like real-life Dyson engineers and get hands-on with Dyson technology. 'Engineering solutions: The Future of Farming' is our latest resource for Primary Schools. It combines Dyson's problem-solving philosophy with Dyson Farming’s pioneering approach, to show how engineering and technology can advance the future of farming. We hope schools across the UK enjoy getting hands-on with the new resource, especially the strawberry crop challenge!"
Juliet Charman, Global Head at the James Dyson Foundation
Dyson farmers have supported the creation of this resource, helping to create worksheets that give a comprehensive overview of agriculture, based on real-life scenarios. Dyson engineers have also used their expertise to show how engineering can support the farming industry, with technology-led practices such as glasshouse farming.
Watch Ben, Lead Design Engineer at Dyson, as he provides a step-by-step guide for students to grow their own strawberry crops below.
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About Dyson Farming
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Dyson Farming is a large-scale farming business which focuses on sustainability and technology-led innovation. They grow a variety of produce including cereals and maize and they rear livestock such as cows and sheep. Dyson engineers work closely with Dyson Farming to develop new technologies to grow food sustainably, at scale and in harmony with the environment.
Dyson Farming has a 15-acre glasshouse in Carrington, Lincolnshire, producing 750 tonnes of high-quality strawberries each year for British consumers. Powered with renewable electricity and surplus heat from Dyson Farming’s adjacent anaerobic digester, the giant glasshouse is 424m long with 832 rows of strawberries and 700,000 strawberry plants.
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“There's a huge diversity of roles and expertise needed to be part of making sure we can feed the 8 billion people that are in the world today, but also how we deal with climate change and how we do things so they're the right thing for the planet.”
Daniel Cross, Managing Director at Dyson Farming
Hear from our Dyson farmers and engineers who have contributed to the new resource.
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"Farming is constantly changing and evolving, and engineers are at the forefront of developing technologies for the farms of the future. Young people will be the driving force behind future innovations in farming. This resource provides an opportunity to get hands-on with real farming technologies and hopefully it will inspire young minds to take on the challenge of solving problems in food, energy and the environment. "
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“The James Dyson Foundation's resource is a great way to encourage young people into agriculture. There is a range of careers available, not just for children from farming backgrounds. Hopefully this can encourage more people into agriculture, an industry we couldn’t live without.”
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“With a growing population and a changing climate, new ideas and technology will be needed to address future food security challenges. The resource created by the James Dyson Foundation and Dyson Farming is an exciting way for young people to start engaging in the science and engineering required to produce food while protecting the environment.”
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