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Open Farm Sunday 2015

Open Farm Sunday 2015 logo
Open Farm Sunday is the opportunity to see first hand how farms work.

The James Hutton Institute will be holding Open Farm Sunday on 7 June 2015, 10 am to 4 pm, Dundee site.

Find us at Directions to the Dundee site.

An emphasis this year will be on soil as part of the International Year of the Soil.

10th Open farm Sunday - latest news

Rebecca Dawes, Open Farm Sunday Scottish Coordinator, writes "We are delighted that we have increased farms in Scotland once again this year, and we have already gained far more exposure than in 2014. This week alone it will feature on STV Glasgow, BBC Landward and in mainstream newspapers and magazines including Scottish Farmer, Press & Journal, Courier ... Once again, I wish you all the best and hope the sun shines for us all."

  • Over 380 farms across the UK registered for Open Farm Sunday 2015
  • To see Open Farm Sunday farms in Scotland, go to find a farm and enter your postcode
  • See LEAFs vision for Open Farm Sunday and Open Farm School Days at this leafmarque link.

LEAF at the Hutton is pleased to be part of Open Farm Sunday. We look forward to hosting a great event in 2015. To get a flavour of the event at the Hutton, see the write up and photographs for Open Farm Sunday 2013 on this site.

Please download and share the OFS 2015 flyer with your friends and colleagues Open Farm Sunday 2015

Events, activities and learning on 7 June at Hutton Dundee

The usual and well liked tractor tours and farm machinery, special events for the International Year of Soils, activities in the Living Field Garden and old favourites like DundeeAstro, Meet the Sheep and Grow a Love Apple.

Farm machinery and trailer tours of the farm

  • Tractors, combines, ploughs, etc on the hard standing - staff are on hand to give you a driver's view of these big machines
  • Trailer tours of the farm - continuous on demand

Activities in the Living Field garden

  • Grain to plate - learn about cereal grain, how to thresh and grind it to make meal, share recipes and tips for baking with traditional grains such as bere barley, rye and spelt (polytunnel, west section), children try your hand with salt dough.
  • Dark materials - roots for eating, healing and dyeing - outdoor activity in the garden - 'root detective'
  • Ten years of the Living Field Garden (2004-14) - slide show, photographs, and Jean Duncan's art work in the Living Field cabin

Soils - to celebrate the International Year of Soils

  • Meet the Soilies at Open Farm Sunday: Claude, Heather, Monty, Pete, Rocky, Rusty, Sandy, Ally (right)
  • Know your roots - grow your roots: computer analysis of toot structure (it's easy, have a go)
  • Colour crazy chemistry - make a soil pH (acidity) indicator from red cabbage plants (take home your plant!)
  • Saving our soils - see how soil structure and vegetation influence erosion (fun with water pistols)
  • How to examine a soil - what do soil maps mean (see Willie Towers in a soil pit!)
  • Phosphorus - the story of this essential element: we all depend on it
  • Journey of a seed - a scale model to show how weed seeds are moved around farms
  • ..... and more.

And the old favourites

  • DundeeAstro - our friends from the astronomical society with their images of the universe and sun-scopes. Check their web site.
  • Meet the sheep - ewe and lambs from Glensaugh research station
  • Grow a love apple (tomato) - how to grow your own food by Hutton's horticulture experts (take home plants you potted)

And much much more to follow ....

James Hutton Institute LEAF Innovation Centre Farm: Euan Caldwell. Science: Geoff Squire. 

Learning & Resources


Printed from /learning/leaf/ofs2015 on 19/03/24 09:08:02 AM

The James Hutton Research Institute is the result of the merger in April 2011 of MLURI and SCRI. This merger formed a new powerhouse for research into food, land use, and climate change.