Kawartha Kids Enter United Nations World Food Day 2014 Poster Contest!
Children around the world are invited to enter the 2014 World Food Day Poster Competition. Children age 5 to 17 are invited to create a poster reflecting this year's theme and submit it by September 30, 2014. All entrants will receive a certificate and the top three winners will win a special prize.FTC:Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links which help put food on the table at no extra cost to our readers. This does not affect our opinion.For further info see our policies page.
Also on Kawartha Lakes Mums:
- More Giveaways
- More Farming Posts
When is World Food Day? What is the 2014 World Food Day theme?
Glad you asked.
United Nations World Food Day 2014 Poster Theme
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| 2014 World Food Day Contest - Open to Children Around the World |
October 16 2014 World Food Day theme is Family Farming:Feeding the World Caring for the Earth.
Did you know the United Nations declared 2014 the International Year of the Family Farm? The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Women’s Guild in Rome, Italy have organized a poster competition for children age 5 to 17 around the world to enter. The theme "Family Farming: “Feeding the world, caring for the earth” is very relevant for children in City of Kawartha Lakes as many live and work on family farms. Why is family farming so important? Why choose this theme?Family Farming Importance
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| Kids 5 to 17 World Wide Contest All Win A Prize |
- Family farming is linked to world food security;
- Family farming promotes balanced diets and helps protect biodiversity; and
- Family farming promotes strong local economies when coupled with other policies which serve to protect the well-being of communities.
What is Family Farming?
Family farming includes all family-based agricultural activities, including:- agricultural forestry,
- fisheries,
- pastoral and
- aquaculture production.
Family Farming - Ensuring Success
United Nations points to several important keys to successful family farming. Countries need to work towards supporting family farms in the following areas::- agro-ecological conditions and territorial characteristics;
- policy environment;
- access to markets;
- access to land and natural resources;
- access to technology and extension services;
- access to finance;
- demographic, economic and socio-cultural conditions;
- availability of specialized education.
Family Farming - Understanding Important Issues
Children are the future of our country, so it is important for them to understand the importance of Family Farming to the economy and food security. How can families help their children learn about some of these issues? What some of the problems family farms face in Canada?While 98% of Canada's farms are owned by families, even here in Canada we see the problems stated by Jacques Diouf, the General Director of (FAO)
The UN notes that there have been too many years of lack of interest towards agriculture, which has led to a number of issues that face the sector today – the disappearance of many family farms, population migration to the cities and less than thorough government support. “The time has come to re-launch farming, and the international Community should not squander the opportunity,” says Jacques Diouf, the General Director of (FAO).How many family farms have you seen ploughed under and subdivisions erected in their place? Yes, in Canada we too are seeing the migration of farmers to cities, as government policies make it more difficult for small farmers.
What kinds of policies make it difficult for family farms? You might be surprised. One recent Canadian policy for Maple Syrup labelling. requires farms of all sizes to pay out thousands of dollars to buy equipment to align their products with a new labelling system, rather than do a pr campaign educating consumers.There are only two large maple syrup producers in Canada - the rest are small family farms. Where will family farms find the thousands of dollars for this equipment so they can continue to sell their maple syrup? Your guess is as good as mine.
Local farmer Harry Stoddart, has written an excellent book:Real Dirt: An Ex-Industrial Farmer's Guide to Sustainable Eating
- a must read for anyone interested in learning more about where our food and farming. |
| See >> Real Dirt: An Ex-Industrial Farmer's Guide to Sustainable Eating |
Family Farming -Teaching About Issues -Age Appropriate Resources
When teaching children, it is important to go from concrete real world experiences that centre on themselves and move towards semi-concrete using photos to reach abstract concepts dealing with the circumstances of others. Here are a few ideas and resources you might find helpful in helping your children understand problems family farms face.
Family Farming Concrete Learning Experiences
Concrete learning experiences involve the use of real objects or 3D representations.
- Visit a variety of family farms. What local farms welcome visitors in your area? Kawartha Farmfest is a great annual event in Kawartha Lakes. Visiting farms is not just a primary age activity. Children of all ages benefit from visiting farms. In addition to seeing first-hand how the food and items we use are grown, children of all ages should be encouraged to ask questions. Older children might ask farmers about problems family farms face. What are some solutions farmers would suggest? Some Kawartha Lakes farms welcoming visitors on a regular basis include Greenshire Eco Farm, Franklin Farm Herbals, South Pond Farms, and Salem Alpacas. Afterwards primers to tweens could re-enact some of what they learnt using puppets.
Reenact Kawartha Lakes Salem Alpacas Family Farming with this Folkmanis ALpaca Hand puppet - Visit a local Farmers Market. While not as effective as a visit to a farm where you can see farm products being made, it can be a worthwhile experience. There are several Farmers Markets in City of Kawartha Lakes that run from late spring to autumn including Lindsay, Fenelon Falls, Bobcaygeon, and Kinmount. When visiting a local Farmers Market, it is important to be aware that some farmers carry produce from other areas, as pointed out in a post recently shared by Harry of Stoddart Farms on Twitter. No Farmers Market near you? Do a scavenger hunt for local products in stores, and ask store managers about local products.
- Take the family to an agricultural exhibition, and visit more than the midway. Kawartha Lakes has agricultural fairs in Fenelon Falls, Kinmount, Lindsay, and Bobcaygeon. See local products are on display, and investigate the prices of farm machinery. Get contact info from farmers who sell farmgate products, so you can purchase directly from local farmers in the future.
- Attend or host a 100 Mile Dinner. Have you attended a 100 Mile Dinner where all the ingredients are within 100 miles of the place that is serving it? United Way Kawartha Lakes hosts a 100 Mile Dinner as a fundraiser each year. How long could your family eat a 100 mile diet? The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating by Smith. Alisa Published by Vintage Canada (2007) Paperback
may be a resource you would find helpful.
The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating by Smith. Alisa Published by Vintage Canada (2007) Paperback - Attempt urban farming as a family. Did you know using an Earthbox kit uses less soil and less water than traditional gardening methods? The Earthbox Junior is designed specifically for indoor gardening, and works best with a grow light. Tip - save on Canadian shipping by placing an order over $90 and buying your soil locally.
Experience Family Farming - Grow Herbs Indoors using EarthKit Junior - Tweens and up could join a local 4H Group. 4H - Head - Hands -Heart -Health is a time honoured farm centred group for teens encouraging healthy living.
- Younger children could use realistic stuffed animals to role play different scenarios that may happen in a farming year. Stuffed Ark carries some very realistic farm animals, such as this lying down cow.
See details >Kosen plush lying down cow handmade in Germany
Family Farming Semi Concrete Activities
Semi-concrete activities are activities in which you use pictures rather than 3D objects.
- Young children might enjoy the Canadian co-operative board game by Family Pastimes / Harvest Time - A Co-operative Game
where all players work together to bring in the crops before winter hits. We sometimes played this by adding a twist-such as a sudden snowstorm, or one player "having an injury"etc.
Harvest Time Canadian Co-operative Board Game from 14.65 - Family Pastimes / The Farmers Market - A Co-operative Game
is a good follow up to a visit to the Farmers Market and introduction to the importance of shopping local.The semi-concrete co-operative game, made in Canada, encourages players to work together to ensure the success of the Farmers Market - For example, if some vendors do not sell anything, then they cannot return to buy at the market.
Family Pastimes / The Farmers Market - A Co-operative Game from 14.65 - Tweens through adults might find 3rdworld farmer, a free online simulation of third world faming interesting. This is much less sophisticated than Farmville, but it introduces 3rd world farming realities such as government collapse.
- There are several farming games for gaming systems or PC listed on Amazon Canada. These games range in age from children to adults.
- Play Farm-Opoly
a farming-based Monopoly style board game.
Farming Game - Farm- opoply from 25.01 Amazon Canada
Family Farming - Abstract Activities
Abstract learning activities, involve thinking about a topic in isolation without pictures or 3D objects. Abstract Activities are best approached after using Concrete and semi-concrete activities.
- Playing an adapted form of 20 Questions could work with many ages. One person thinks of an object and the other player gets to ask 20 questions about it, to which the first person replies yes or no. If the child thinks of something on a farm, the adult can phrase questions such as "Does the farmer need to build a barn to keep it warm?" or for older children "Does the farmer need to pay to sell the product?"
- Family Story telling - One person starts the story, and when the timer goes off the next person continues. By having a visible timer each person can aim for a problem for the next person to solve.Here's a cute Set of 3 Farm Animal Kitchen Timers from Design Imports
- Writing - Writing a journal about any of the about activities can help to bridge from semi-concrete to abstract.Using role play or story-telling before writing can also be useful for bridging to the abstract.Melissa & Doug Stamp A Scene Farm Set
allows younger children to retell events using pictures. The set comes with a good variety of easy to hold wooden stamps including corn, a vegetable garden, apple tree and basket and hay in addition to the variety of common farm animals, tractor, barn and silo.
Melissa & Doug Stamp A Scene Farm Set - Letter writing - Engage in a family letter writing campaign asking politicians to support family-farming.
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Set of 3 Farm Animal Kitchen Timers from Design Imports |
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International Year of the Family Farm Related Links
Any adfly links below will open with a word from a sponsor to help cover expenses. Click the "Skip Ad" Button when it appears in the top right corner to proceed to the webpage. Find out more at : http://adf.ly/?id=4009826 Want a direct link to your site? Ask about a link exchange or sponsoring a post. Confidential comments will not be published.- World Food Day Poster Contest http://www.fao.org/world-food-day/contest/2014/en/ http://www.fao.org/world-food-day/contest/2014/fr/
- #IYFF http://www.fao.org/family-farming-2014/en/ http://www.fao.org/family-farming-2014/fr/
- More Alpaca Posts on Kawartha Lakes Mums
- Green Shire Eco Farm
- Franklin Farm Herbals Bethany
- Farmfest 2014
Did your son or daughter create a poster for this contest? We'd like to see it too!
ReplyDeletePlease bring it by our Facebook page!