CHILDREN from schools across Yorkshire will be learning more about the countryside at a special day-long event to be based at the Great Yorkshire Showground, near Harrogate.

The day takes place next Tuesday, and children from 15 Yorkshire schools will be involved in activities ranging from dry-stone walling to a healthy eating survey based on what they ate for breakfast. The schools include several in Harrogate and Knaresborough, as well as Hob Moor Junior School in York. Children will get the chance to have a go at milking "Glenys", an artificial cow, to watch how butter is made, to see how a blade of corn is transformed into a loaf of bread and to try pond dipping and fly fishing.

Trevor Rogers, education adviser to the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, said: "It's the first time we've organised something like this, but hopefully it will be useful in helping children to have a greater understanding and appreciation of the countryside, agriculture and the environment.

Updated: 11:00 Wednesday, July 04, 2001