Hawera school kids ‘buzzing’ after farm visit
The chance to show kids where milk really comes from brings a big smile to the faces of Fonterra farmers Bryce and Amanda Savage.
Twenty-two pupils from Hawera Primary School recently visited the farm where Bryce and Amanda sharemilk for Parininihi ki Waitotara, and from all accounts are still buzzing from the experience.
The visit was part of Fonterra’s Milk for Schools programme, of which Bryce and Amanda are ambassadors for their region.
The kids got the chance to see cows being milked, feed calves, pat the cows and check out a Fonterra tanker.
For many of the children it was their first ever visit to a farm, let alone be up close to the animals themselves.
“It was really neat to see the kids’ smiling faces” says Amanda. “Our children get to do this every day so to be able to show kids who have never been on a farm before where milk comes from and to give them a real-life farm experience is a great feeling.”
“Giving back to the industry and our local community is important for us” says Bryce. “We are very proud of what we do and to share it with the kids and see how much they enjoyed the visit was really rewarding. They were fascinated to learn that the milk is warm when it comes from the cows, not like the cold milk from the supermarket shelf.”
Our children get to do this every day so to be able to show kids who have never been on a farm before where milk comes from and to give them a real-life farm experience is a great feeling.
“We are so grateful to Bryce and Amanda for taking the time to give the kids an experience they are all still talking about.”
Fonterra contributed some of the cost of a bus to take the children to the farm, something the school’s Principal Neryda Sullivan says was greatly appreciated. “The Milk for Schools programme is a brilliant initiative” she says. “It shows just how much farmers and Fonterra care about their local communities and the health and well-being of our younger generation.”
More visits to Bryce and Amanda’s farm are in the pipeline with one visit every school term being planned.
