The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU), in partnership with Bank of Ireland Virtual Farm Weekend (BOIVFW) and Asda, are delighted to announce the winners of the 2021 “Dig in! to 10 years of Open Farm Weekend” schools competition.
The competition, kindly sponsored by Asda, was open to all playgroups, nursery, primary, and special schools in Northern Ireland (NI), and pupils were asked to put their creative skills to the test. The theme related to the UFU and Agri-Aware’s food and farming education resource “Dig In!” which encourages pupils to learn more about food, farming, and the countryside.
UFU deputy president, David Brown said, “A huge congratulations to all of the winners and a big thank you to everyone who entered. We received over 7,000 fantastic competition entries this year, the largest volume of entries recorded to date, making it an extremely difficult task to judge. Every year we are impressed by the standard and creativity of entries and this year was no different. From digital news report entries highlighting ‘what farming means to me’, to brilliant posters with materials such as grass, glitter, googly eyes and feathers being used to help Open Farm Weekend celebrate its tenth anniversary. The effort and time that pupils, teachers, parents and guardians put into the competition was evident as all of the entries were of the highest standard.
“As it is a very special year for Open Farm Weekend, the steering group added an additional category for playgroup, nursery and pre-school pupils to showcase their artistic flare. It was evident from the record-breaking number of entries that the competition was well received, and I hope it provided an opportunity for teachers and parents to start the discussion in their classrooms and homes about the importance of food and farming in NI.”
Joe McDonald, Asda NI Corporate Affairs Manager, said, “As a proud sponsor of the schools’ competition, it was fantastic to see such a large number of entries this year – with pupils from both urban and rural areas across Northern Ireland submitting their artwork.”
The UFU, BOIVFW and Asda would like to congratulate the winners of the UFU’s 2021 schools competition:
Special schools: Lucia Kane – Beechlawn Special School, County Down.
Foundation (Playgroup, nursery and pre-school): Meadow Holmes – Ballynahinch Primary School (Nursery Unit), County Down.
Foundation (P1 and P2): Alesha Hilley – Edwards Primary School, County Tyrone.
Key stage 1: Reuben Callaghan – Lisnadill Primary School, County Armagh.
Key stage 2: Eimear Clarke – St Joseph’s Primary School, Galbally, County Tyrone.
The runners-up of the 2021 “Dig in! to 10 years of Open Farm Weekend” schools competition is as follows:
Special schools: Brooklynn Smith – Rossmar School, County Londonderry
Foundation (Playgroup, nursery and pre-school): Carly Smith – Ballymagee nursery, County Down.
Foundation (P1 and P2): Eva Gordon – Clough Primary School, County Antrim.
Key stage 1: Kyle Johnston – Irvinestown Primary School, County Fermanagh.
Key stage 2: Joey Donnelly – McClintock Primary School, County Tyrone.
