A survey recently carried out amongst adults by the Linking Environment And Farming organisation (LEAF) suggested many British people are unaware that much of their food is produced on farms. The survey found 4 in 10 people did not know yoghurt is made using farm produce, nearly half were unaware the raw ingredients for beer start off in farmers' fields and 22% did not know bacon and sausages originate from farms. The survey also found that 29% of the adults questioned - including 42% of 16 to 24 year olds and 33% of those with children - had never visited a farm. Understanding where food comes from and how it is produced is an important step in developing young people’s understanding of why they should eat healthily. The department of Health states that childhood obesity in 2-10 year olds in England has risen from 9.9% in 1995 to 14.3% in 2004. If we do nothing, 20% of 2-10 year olds will be obese by 2010. With these kind of statistics, the relevance and importance of education on this subject has never been so strong. From its scenic rural location, yet within London’s M25, the Lambourne End Outdoor Centre offers young people from across Essex and London unique educational opportunities to learn about farm and environmental issues. It provides fun and informative practical sessions using it’s working farm with rare-breed animals, fruit & vegetable gardens, ponds, ancient hedgerows and woodlands to introduce them to the countryside and make them think about and understand the environment, it’s conservation; the food they eat and where it comes from. One of the farm sessions, ‘Meet Meat & Eat’ is used to stimulate discussion about food production, farming systems and customer choices. It offers an introduction to our farm animals at different stages of life, and the way they have adapted to suit their needs & environment. Pupils discover where food actually comes from and the reasons each of the animals are found on the farm. Our current education programme has been built up in response to demand from schools and youth groups. However, due to the ad-hoc way it has developed there is no dedicated member of staff or educational materials for this project. All the current education work is done by existing staff who already have other full-time responsibilities to simply keep the farm running. By providing supporting professional resources and expertise, it will enable the Centre to relate it’s programmes to the National Curriculum with the intention that they become established as part of many schools schemes of work. This will make the programmes more effective and desirable, resulting in schools returning year on year to repeat these programmes, thus ensuring that more children benefit from learning in our 54 acre classroom.