Animate It!

Get creative and enter our Animation competition with a chance to win some fantastic prizes!

Watch the latest entry

 

Last updated 09/05/2012

Sound library now live!

Listen to the squeals, squeaks, sniffles, snuffles, whirrs, slurps, drones, creaks, crackles, bleating and baaing. The sounds of the countryside are available to listen to now or for free download.

Last updated 26/01/2012

Shaun the Sheep is here!

 

Discover the sounds and smells of the farm with Shaun in some baa-rilliant clips

Last updated 23/05/2011

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 girl looking at an insect she found under old carpets in a wood

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Supported by:

Natural England Lottery Funded

 

Listen and Look!

We asked farmers and nature enthusiasts to tell us about plants and animals, their homes, how they grow, the tools they use and what they are passionate about. Have a listen to their short audio stories and get in very close to nature, food and farming!

 

Are you a teacher?

This guide has been developed to help you integrate these audio stories easily into your lessons. They are ideal to bring the sounds of nature and farming into your classroom to engage your pupils in the wonder of the natural world. A range of classroom activities are provided, along with links to the National Curriculum in England. The list of activities is not exhaustive, as many of the audio stories lead themselves to literacy and numeracy learning, as well as other cross-curricular approaches. Download the guide, select a story below and have a listen! 
Click to download teachers' guide.
 
 
 Graham Appleton showing a pair of pliers. Click to see a video explaining how birds use their beaks as tools.
  A herd of black and white cows. Click for a video of Jo North expressing her admeration for cows
 A trio of brown hens peering out of a hen house. Click for a video of Andrew Taylor talking about the daily routine with his chickens.
 Sally Bendall kneeling next a vegetable patch of cabbages. Click for a video of Sally Bendall talking about the leaves we eat.
 Dr David Leech with his device for viewing bird nests. Click for a video of Dr David Leech discussing bird nests.
 Matthew Naylor sitting on his large green tractor in the middle of a field. Click for a video of Matthew Naylor discussing his tractor.
 Andrew Taylor opening a gate for a flock of wolly sheep. Click for a video of Andrew Taylor discussing the feeding of his sheep.
 Belle the sheep dog in a field. Click for a video of Roly Puzey talking about Belle.
 Sally Bendall holding and sniffing a Celeriac. Click for a video of Sally Bendall discussing roots we eat.
 A handful of topsoil. Click for a video Andrew Charlton discussing the seeds he sows on his farm.
 Mark Abel holding some bread and a bag of flour. Click for a video of Mark Abel discussing the Denver windmill.
 A group kneeding dough. Click for a video of this group making their own bread.
 Someone looking into the bug hotel. Click for a video of Eliza Emmet discussing the bug hotel.
 Andrew Nottage looking at a ladybug in his hand. Click for a video of him discussing beetle banks.
 A pair of wellington boots in a muddy patch. Clcik to view a video of Andrew Charlton describing the tasks he does during the winter months when it is too wet to go out to the fields.
 Jo North watching a cow. Click for a video of Jo North talking about the story of milk.
 A meadow of grass and red flowers. Click for a video of Liz Nottage discussing her favourite summer sensations.
 Some topsoil. Click for a video of Andrew Carlton discussing plant roots.
 A swallow. Click for a video of Paul Stancliffe discussing swallows, his favourite type of bird.
 Andew Taylor removing the plastic wrapping off a bale of straw. Click for a video of Andew Taylor discussing the management of the barn.
 
 
“Listening to the audio files was absolutely beautiful. I could hear so clearly the joy and enthusiasm in the voices of the farmers and the love they had for their work, their animals and nature in general was evident as they described in detail what they were experiencing during their day. The constant background sounds of calves or birds or grass rustling was just precious. It made me want to be a farmer!”
 

Have you ever listened to cows in conversation?

Click below and have a listen to the most amazing sounds of Jo North's dairy cows, a little like whales, they let out long low sounds that can almost make you shudder! Beautiful!
 
 
  
Cows recorded by Susie Emmett, Green Shoots Productions on Droke Farm, South East England