Two decades of teaching agriculture

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This article was published 25/09/2024 (403 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

GLENLEA — Students traded their pencils and notebooks for cows and chickens as the Amazing Agriculture Adventure kicked off on Tuesday.

Held 20 minutes south of Winnipeg at the Bruce D. Campbell Farm and Food Discovery Centre, the four-day event gives students the opportunity to explore the agriculture industry.

Agriculture in the Classroom Manitoba has been organizing the event for more than 20 years.

The purpose is twofold, according to executive director Katharine Cherewyk: teach students where their food comes from and show them the range of careers available to them in the agriculture sector.

“Agriculture is a huge economic driver in our province,” Cherewyk said. “For communities to stay vibrant, for our economy to stay healthy, to attract new industries, we need people to fill those jobs.”

“We want students to experience something like this so that they have first-hand experience (seeing) how food’s produced (and can) meet people who have these amazing jobs,” she added.

Grades 3 and 4 students circulated through eight interactive stations Tuesday afternoon, learning about dairy, beef, chicken, eggs, pork, bees, veterinary care, 4-H and Manitoba watersheds along the way.

At one of the stations, Meagan King, an animal science professor at the University of Manitoba, taught students about a Fitbit-like device that keeps track of health indicators in cows.

She also touched on the roles a number of professions — including software developers, food scientists, dieticians, insurance adjusters and social media strategists — have to play in the agriculture industry.

“I think it’s very important to show kids all the different jobs that could be available to them that aren’t just being a veterinarian, because that’s what people think of when they think of animals,” King said. “We’re trying to show them that there’s a lot of technology involved in agriculture.”

Over at another station, Harley Siemens taught students about laying hens.

The fourth-generation egg farmer from Rosenort, Man., believes it’s important for children to hear directly from the people who produce their food. In his view, trust between farmers and consumers has eroded over time; events like the Amazing Agriculture Adventure are one way to rebuild that trust.

“I try to show how much I care about (what I do),” Siemens said. “I think it’s really important they see the passion that I have for our industry, and that they know, OK, these people really want to do a good job.”

Jatinder Jaura, a Grade 3 and 4 teacher at Elwick Community School in Winnipeg, expressed his appreciation for the event.

He said that thanks to resources from Agriculture in the Classroom Manitoba, teachers and students at Elwick have been able to plant a small garden on school grounds.

“The programs they have for the kids are very, very useful and very enriching,” Jaura said. “I hope they keep on doing it in the future.”

About 800 students and 40 teachers from 32 classrooms are expected to attend this year’s Amazing Agriculture Adventure, which runs until the end of the week.

On Sept. 27, the event will be open to students in grades 9 to 12 for the first time ever.

Cherewyk praised the U of M, which operates the Bruce D. Campbell Farm and Food Discovery Centre, and the 80 volunteers involved with the event, for making everything possible.

“It’s very hard to take animals into classrooms and it’s hard for students to have a face-to-face kind of experience with animal agriculture,” Cherewyk said. “So it’s great that this facility exists.”

“We’re so happy,” she added. “It’s a really important program for us to run.”

Agriculture in the Classroom Manitoba fosters agricultural literacy by connecting teachers and students with curriculum-based programs, learning activities and educational resources.

The non-profit was established in 1988.

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca