University opening campus doors and farm gates to local residents
Doors and gates will be opening at Harper Adams University this summer – and members of the local community are all invited!
On June 8th, the Harper Adams Future Farm will be taking part in Open Farm Sunday – a national initiative to invite members of the public onto farms to see how they operate.
Grace Milburn, lead event organiser, said: “We’d love to welcome visitors to join us for the Open Farm on June 8. Our countryside is full of farms, but many people never step foot through the gate. With the Future Farm driving forward the use of technology, pushing towards net zero, and being home to the UK’s Gold Cup Dairy Farm, it makes sense that we would welcome curious minds to join us for the day.
“It’s going to be interesting, informative and, most of all, great fun for all!”
The Harper Adams Open Farm Sunday will run from 11am to 3.30pm on June 8. Entrance is free but guests are asked to register online so give organisers a sense of numbers coming.
The day will include individual on-farm talks about the various farm operations. In addition, there will be a calf feeding demonstration and a range of fun activities in the “Play Paddock”, including sheep herding and cow milking simulations.
Visiting children will be offered their own activity pack and guests will be able to take self-guided tours, meeting staff along the way to learn about their work.
Then on June 14th, the University will host its big summer open day – this is a chance for prospective students and their families or other supporters to explore the campus, courses and student life. Both the Edgmond countryside campus and the central Telford Station Quarter campus will be open to visitors.
On June 30th, teenagers from across the UK will arrive at the Edgmond campus for the Harper Adams Experience (HAE) – a two-day residential course during which they will fully immerse themselves in student life, with a view to applying study there. Limited places are still available.
Open Day and HAE organiser, Teresa Jones, says: “It would be wonderful to welcome more Telford and Shropshire based visitors to these events – especially as many might not realise the extent of the courses we can offer, as Shropshire’s home-grown university.
“There are courses from access level to degree to Masters in subjects covering agriculture, food innovation, mechanical engineering, business management, land management, animal health, veterinary professions, robotics, data science, zoology and more.
“Whether you are looking for a degree with great prospects or want to continue in academia, thanks to Harper Adams there is scope to go all the way up to PhD and even Professor level without leaving the county. And we’re now offering courses in the heart of Telford. Come and find out more!”
All upcoming events can be found at harper.ac.uk/events
