The Country Trust

Who we are

Since 1978 we have been working to deliver food, farming and countryside experiences to children whose potential is only limited by their access to opportunities. We do this through four key programmes: Farm Discovery day visits, Countryside Discovery residentials, Food Discovery programmes teaching children to grow, cook and explore food, and Farm in a Box, initially created in response to the Covid-19 pandemic but now an increasingly successful way of bringing the farm into the classroom.  

The problem 

Poverty of opportunity and experience from an early age negatively impacts health, wellbeing, and the likelihood of a successful adult life, and with it the ability to contribute to a thriving, sustainable society. 

Our aim 

Through food, farming and countryside experiences The Country Trust aims to empower children to be confident, curious and create change in their lives and the world around them, so that they and society thrive. We want to connect children to the land that sustains us. 

Our vision: 

We share a vision with others in our sector for a fair, sustainable and inclusive society in which all children, irrespective of background, are able to thrive and achieve their potential. Our particular mission focusses in those least able to access the experiences and opportunities that will enable them to thrive. Our food, farming and countryside programmes are for children from low-income families, schools and groups providing for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEN/D), young carers, vulnerable and refugee children. The programmes are designed to bring children into contact with irresistible learning, and experiences that will help them to develop curiosity, confidence and to build connections with those who produce our food and the natural world around them. 

Our culture and values

The number of children eligible for our work has soared in the last few years, and now stands at 1.1 million, 100,000 more children in the last year alone.

We have also become more aware that there is a widespread lack of understanding, even a disbelief of the day-to-day reality, of the most disadvantaged in our community, and how poverty impacts access to good food, green space, the natural world, and opportunity, which in turn affects diet, health, the ability to participate and the ability to thrive.

Our Mission

Through food, farming and countryside experiences we aim to empower children to be confident, curious and create change in their lives and the world around them so that they and society thrive.

Our Vision

A fair, sustainable and inclusive society in which all children, irrespective of background, are able to thrive and achieve their potential

Equality, diversity and inclusion policy

We want our team to better reflect the amazing diversity of the children and communities we work with. We are excited about the connections, creativity and inspiration this will bring, and most of all we are committed to finding the right people for the job.