Farm visits are a standard part of nursery life, but last year, the seven-month-long foot-and-mouth outbreak changed all that. Farms, zoos and pets corners shut down, almost four million animals were slaughtered, the countryside became a no-go area, and adults had to explain to small children the impact of an epidemic they themselves barely understood.
Animals at Mudchute Farm, on the Isle of Dogs in London, were never under threat, but the premises did close for six months. Education officer Maggie Pilcombe remembers the confusion. 'Our education role came to the fore. We put up explanatory notices, but still lots of people thought they could catch the disease, or that our animals had been killed, so there was a lot of fear. In cities, particularly, there is not an understanding of the countryside.'
Most children only gained any sense of the crisis when it directly affected them - a cancelled farm visit, perhaps, or anxiety over the future of their favourite animals.
Ian Longden of Whirlow Hall Farm, a working farm near Sheffield that takes day and residential visitors, recalls, 'It is difficult getting the message across to people who live in an urban environment, but I think it really brought it home to the children that, if we had been affected by the disease, it would have wiped us out, and how difficult it was for the farming community.'
In rural areas, children were only too aware of the horror. Several youngsters from farming backgrounds attend the ABC Nurseries at Dumfries and Ecclefechan in Scotland. At the height of the outbreak, they were unable to attend because of travel restrictions.
Children drove past pyres on their way to nursery, and the smell of smoke was everywhere. Owner Ann McEwan recalls, 'The saddest part of it was children coming into nursery and saying there were sheep in the fields, but by the time they went home the sheep would be gone.'
Anecdotal evidence suggests youngsters have either forgotten, or choose not to discuss foot-and-mouth. Even Ann McEwan's farming intake appear to have no long-term trauma connected with the outbreak. But they are now talking about the new spring lambs. 'We are making a very big thing about that,'
she says. 'None of the children has actually mentioned what happened, but they do know they didn't have lambs last year.'
Since the outbreak, town-dwellers have been reluctant to return to the countryside. But a change of attitude is important for a number of reasons -farming contributes 6.65 billion to the national economy, it forms the basis of the UK food industry, and is the lynchpin of countryside tourism.
One such initiative is FACE (Farming and Countryside Education), set up by the National Farmers Union and the Royal Agricultural Society of England, with membership across the agricultural sector.
Head of education Bill Graham wants to commission research into children's views of farming. He suspects that foot-and-mouth made little impression on young children, while older age-groups - influenced by graphic media images - are now much more aware of food issues, and possibly hostile towards farmers for failing to safeguard the countryside.
He says farmers themselves feel almost a sense of mission to explain the realities of the industry. 'Not some Peter Pan image that may not have existed ever anyway,' he argues, 'but the realities of food and non-food production, and how it is vital to every young person's life.'
Teachers can also contact Farms For Schools (FFS), a body set up seven years ago to ensure safe, enjoyable and educationally-worthwhile visits. FFS stock is checked by veterinar-ians, and members must meet requisite standards in facilities and educational resources, including health and safety, insurance cover and adequate toilet and handwashing provision.
Those standards predate foot-and-mouth and are aimed equally at preventing infection by the E-coli bug. Mr Graham accepts that misconceptions about 'catching' foot-and-mouth may linger, but is content with existing hygiene measures. 'We are trying to reassure schools that as long as they have the right procedures in place, a farm visit is no different from other outdoors visits,' he says.
He and his farming membership hope renewed interest in the countryside can reinforce the message that farms aren't theme parks - they are all about food production. Interestingly, children seem to have no problem with that message -it's the adults who turn squeamish.
Whirlow Hall Farm has a range of educational resources ranging from an all-seatbelt trailer fitted with a PA system, to an incubator loan service. But, primarily, it is a 130-acre mixed hill farm, and Ian Longden is emphatic that it must remain a working unit.
He says, 'We have always been honest about why animals are being reared, but making the connection from farm to fork is becoming more tenuous in an urban environment.
'We explain to children that although this is a different environment to Sheffield, it is important they know where the food comes from. They have to respect the countryside, and have respect for the farmers who work in it.'
City children are also the main visitors to London's Mudchute Farm. Maggie Pilcombe believes they must be told the truth about animal production. 'Our view is that we have farm animals because we eat them,' she says. 'And it is our responsibility to make sure that, while we have them, they have the best life possible.
'Most children don't have a problem, it is the adults who have a problem. Most of our visitors are meat eaters and it is important to understand that the lamb you see in the field this spring is going to be on your plate.'
Margaret Dee, who with her husband Tony has farmed at West Lodge, at Desborough in Northamptonshire, for 35 years, agrees. She and Tony have created a farm park on their 550 acres, and are extending their interest in children and the countryside by opening a 56-place nursery.
Younger visitors can take a nature walk or visit the 'cuddle corner' with smaller animals and poultry. 'Our farming friends find it terribly twee!'
adds Margaret.
She says children calmly come to terms with the link between cute Tamworth piglets, and their sandwich filling. 'If you ask a group of five-year- olds, "Where do eggs come from?" they all say "Safeway". So we talk about their sandwiches, where the grain for the bread is from, the butter, the filling. You get gasps of horror from the teachers, but the children have no problem. They will admire the piglets, then tuck into their ham sandwiches!'
Approaching diversification from the other direction is Sarah Weston, who has run a nursery on the family farm, Offerton, in Hindlip, Worcestershire for 12 years. The farm lost 450 cattle during foot-and-mouth, but a sense of weary optimism, and a belief that children gain much from experiencing farm life, has led the Westons to open their farm to visits.
Mrs Weston says, 'I think children do miss out on a learning opportunity if they are not allowed access to working farms.
'Farm life was never about cute fluffy animals, and it is important that children learn about animal welfare.'
Strong messages like that may well form new attitudes to the farming industry. And, as Ann McEwan in Dumfries demonstrates, foot-and-mouth has probably swept away farming's false 'cuddly' image. She says, 'Last week one of our parents was going to bring in a new lamb to visit us. We would have loved it, but all the paperwork was going to make it too difficult. She is making a video of the lamb instead.' NW