The AgForce team have just finished up an inspiring and engaging Western Kids 2 Farm Tour in the state’s South West and Southern Inland. AgForce School to Industry Partnerships Program (SIPP) staff member Lucy Gunther joined forces with the regional managers from the Southwest Kerrie Cribb and Southern Inland Elle Rands to deliver 2 weeks of hands-on agriculture education to kids ranging from Kindergarten to Year 12.
Spanning 14 towns, Lucy and the team engaged with 20 different schools, from Meandarra State School and as far out as St Finbarr’s School in Quilpie, amounting to 2750 kilometres. The student reach was phenomenal, with 811 students engaging with the program and taking home stories of all things agriculture, including some surprise students who were able to come along and enjoy the fun! The 60+ teachers and teaching staff took away valuable knowledge to help children remain in touch with agriculture and understand the importance of food and fibre education, and AgForce are incredibly grateful to the 4 industry professionals who came on board as hosts or speakers and gave their time to help educate and tell stories of the real-world of Ag! Across every town, the community’s enthusiasm to learn and connect with agriculture was loud and clear.
The tour’s organiser, Lucy, from the AgForce SIPP team says the real value comes from seeing the community engaged, and the enthusiasm to learn more about agriculture.
“At each town there was a demonstrated power of community and the passion our industry has for educating the next generation. Every stop reinforced the importance of building ag literacy early and the role schools, communities, and industry play in shaping young people’s understanding of food, fibre, and futures in ag.”
AgForce South West Regional Manager Kerrie Cribb says although these kids are in food producing areas, the knowledge doesn’t always reach every student, and by continuing to connect with students and teachers is valuable beyond words and says the Quilpie Show engagement from one of the days was such a highlight.
“Getting involved in the Western Kids 2 Farm tour showed that just because these schools are in a food producing region doesn’t mean that the students have a great knowledge of where their food and fibre come from. The engagement at the schools was well received by students and teachers, with one Charleville School teacher saying that she had learnt some new things that day and 2 teachers involved with the Cunnamulla school engagement saying it was great that the students were involved with hands on, fun learning activities that got them involved, quoting that so many presentations at the school is just people talking at the students and don’t get them involved as Lucy did with her activities. The Quilpie Show engagement on the Saturday was a big hit with students participating in a colouring competition and doing puzzles on cuts of meat on a meat carcass.”
Southern Inland Regional Manager Elle reflected on the opportunity to spend time doing the most important job as a regional manager; spending time visiting her region and bringing Ag Education to the forefront.
“It was such a great opportunity to jump in the car with Lucy from the SIPP team and visit regional schools as part of the Western Kids 2 Farm Tour. The level of engagement we received from both students and teachers across the region was really encouraging, and it highlighted just how valuable these conversations are. It was eye-opening to see the impressive initiatives that schools already have in place to help students understand where their food and fibre comes from. Experiences like this remind us how important it is to keep connecting with young people in regional communities, and I truly hope we have more opportunities to engage with students in the bush in the future.”
The positive feedback from teachers and students speaks for itself, with 100% of teachers surveyed saying the program aligned with curriculum and enhanced classroom learning and 95% of students reported learning something new about ag or seeing agriculture differently.