With the last bell the hunt for summer camps began for over one parent in three (36%) looking for the most suitable place for their children to have a fun and educational experience while managing to match work times with those of family management. In Tuscany there are 180 thousand families with children who will choose a summer campus or who have already done so. Among the most popular summer centers are those in the countryside, which have seen strong growth in recent years, thanks to the 208 farms that welcome, in absolute safety, boys and girls with lots of activities to do in the open air following the rhythms of nature and nature. seasonality of agricultural products, farmyard animals and agriculture. This is what emerges from a Coldiretti Toscana/Ixe’ survey with the start of the “colony” season, which traditionally starts after the end of primary and secondary school commitments offering proposals and activities.
Among those who are busy with work and those who believe that it is still important for children and teenagers to spend time with their peers, away from smartphones, consoles and television, these meeting places represent a valid alternative after the end of school. Among those who are not interested in summer camps, 28% are because they have the possibility of having their children stay with someone else in the family, especially grandparents (28%) but there is also 13% who give up for economic reasons while a another 5% don’t even try due to the scarcity of the offer compared to the needs of families, according to Coldiretti/Ixe’.
At the top of the ranking of the most popular “colonies” are those by the sea, preferred by 40% of users, while in second place is the countryside (19%), which precedes cities and mountains. An exploit favored by the growth of the phenomenon of educational farms which have grown by 14% in Tuscany. Coldiretti’s educational farms, thanks also to agreements with local authorities, represent an important opportunity to guarantee essential services in areas that would otherwise often be without them, giving space to innovative teaching in the countryside, with the offer of activities also for disabled.
The activities proposed by the companies are among the most diverse and original, ranging from bee and milk workshops to learn more about the life of shepherds, to workshops where you can learn to cook, from excursions in the woods to the discovery of flowers, plants, courses of water and biodiversity. And more horse riding and work in the field. All made even healthier by zero km snacks and tastings of local products.
The summer campuses are an important part of the educational project promoted by Coldiretti Tuscany, Coldiretti Women’s Business And Friendly Campaign and collaboration of the regional school office which this year alone involved 20 thousand students from schools of all levels in the region. The project, which will be repeated again next year, includes classroom lessons by farmer tutors together with visits to farms with the aim of promoting a healthy, varied and balanced diet starting from the seasonality of agricultural products and rural life.
