Campers learn about farming

FOR THE PAST six years, the Governor General’s Agricultural Summer Camp has been showing children the wonders of plant and animal life.From the way they grow to their importance to Barbados, the children gain appreciation for the flora and fauna with which they share the land.The first week of the two-week camp came to an end on Friday when Governor General Sir Clifford Husbands paid the children a visit to get an idea of how much they had learnt.Camp assistant Anthony Bryan said the visit went well, Sir Clifford being treated to a demonstration of driving a mini tractor as well as inspecting some squash seeds and potato slips the children had planted.“The idea is to expose children to agriculture at a young age, as the camp is for children aged six to 11. They learnt how plants grew and had some field trips to places like the Flower Forest, the Barbados Horticultural Society, and rabbit and pig farms,” he said in a telephone interview yesterday.Bryan said the camp, now in its sixth year, is pitched at Brighton Plantation, St George, every year with the kind permission of owner Michael Pile. More field tripsHe said that next week, they planned to have more field trips, this time to a dairy and pig farm in Kendal, St John, WIBISCO, and the University of the West Indies playing field to get an idea of how such fields were maintained.Bryan said the camp received good marks from the guardians and parents involved and they had good rapport with the children, who were “extremely interested”. The only worry was a reduction in participants as there were 12 children attending the camp this year out of the 16 who had signed up.“We can usually accommodate 18 to 20 children comfortably but this year we were a little disappointed by the numbers. “I don’t know if it was because of the many other summer camps available. Parents may prefer to send their children to a four-week camp rather than a two-week specialty camp, but it is hard to say. “At any rate, we do not have a shortage of willing people, as participants usually tell their friends, and we do have a waiting list,” he said. (CA)