New President of the South of England Agricultural Society, Lord
Egremont of the Petworth Estate in West Sussex, announced today that the South
of England Agricultural Society’s theme for 2014 will be horticulture.
“We will be celebrating everything that
grows - in our gardens, in our fields and in our unique woodland as well as
looking at timber and trees - and this will be reflected in our shows, kicking
off with the Spring Garden & Leisure Show in May 2014 and carrying on
through the South of England Show and our Autumn and Christmas shows,” said
Lord Egremont.
“This offers us a real opportunity to help
educate children about countryside and farming and bring them closer to where
their food comes from, which is core to the South of England Agricultural
Society’s charitable aims.”
Lord Egremont steps into the Presidential
shoes of Penelope Keith CBE DL, who presided over the past year’s theme of
Poultry, which helped raise awareness about the region’s unique poultry history
and promote the poultry industry.
His family has historical links with the
Society going back to the 18th Century. His ancestors, the Lords
Leconfield, were Presidents of the Sussex County, Tunbridge Wells and South
Eastern Counties Agricultural Societies, which merged to form the South of
England Agricultural Society in 1967.
He and Lady Egremont are hands on at the
Petworth Estate, making it a huge success as a farming estate and managing some
of the most beautiful grounds in the region. They are committed to education
and annually host children from London schools on the Estate to experience a
closer look at farming and where their food comes from.
“It’s very important for children who live
in an urban environment to understand what form agricultural farming takes.
People in the city can lose touch with the countryside and farming, going to
supermarkets and not knowing what is involved in where their food comes from.
I’m very keen to promote the seasons and encourage people to embrace the cycle
of nature, eating British fare when it is ripe and ready.
“Crops are largely imported now, but I’m
keen to see that farming has an opportunity to diversify and produce as many
kinds of crops as possible. This is one of the messages we will be promoting
throughout our Presidential year, but we will also be encouraging people to
embrace gardening and growing on all scales, however small.”
Lord Egremont has also selected his
President’s Charity for the year, to benefit from fundraising activities held
at the Society’s events, which is the Children’s Society, specifically projects
to help children in Sussex.
The educational work of the South of
England Society and its theme of horticulture will be reflected at all next
year’s exciting South of England Showground events, which include:
Public
events:
Spring Garden & Leisure Show - 4 &
5 May
South of England Show – 5, 6 & 7 June
Autumn Show & Game Fair 4 & 5
October
Festive Food & Drink Fayre 6 & 7
December
Other
educational events include:
Connect with the Countryside – July
Countryside Careers – 16 October
Jim Green Memorial Competition – 12 March
Young Craftsman of the Year – June
The Project Assignment Competition -
October
