June 2011
Featured in this insight: Environment & sustainability
Poll finds British public clueless about the countryside: A survey by farming charity LEAF has uncovered a significant lack of awareness when it comes to the British public’s knowledge about nature and wildlife.
In total, one in five adults who took part in the study are unaware that acorns come from oak trees, 15% didn’t know that a dairy cow is female, and a quarter of 18–24 year olds don't know that tadpoles become frogs.
The poll also revealed that Britons have very little idea about the role farmers play in maintaining the countryside – 95% were unaware that farmers manage over three quarters of the UK's land, and less than one in four people knew that farmers were responsible for looking after most rural hedgerows, fences and walls.
TV presenter and farmer Adam Henson commented on the results: "As a farmer I am passionate about the great British countryside, and like most farmers I spend a considerable amount of my time in looking after it – along with all the wildlife that lives there too. I'm disappointed to see that so many people seem to be confused about the countryside and the role that farmers like me play in nurturing wildlife and tending the land."
Britons can brush up on their knowledge during the nationwide event called Open Farm Sunday on the 12th June, where hundreds of farms will open their gates to the public.
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