Teachers from across Victoria will travel to the Goulburn Valley next month to learn first-hand from some of the region's farmers about technology advancements in food and fibre production as part of an innovative Teacher Farm Experience Program (TeacherFX).
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The two-day program - to be held on October 9 and 10 - aims to equip educators with an increased understanding and interest in food and fibre production, with a particular focus on how they can adopt the learnings into their STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and digital technology curriculums.
The roll out of TeacherFX - which follows a successful pilot of the program in Western Australia last year - is part of a wider initiative to bridge the urban-rural divide.
Spearheaded by Rabobank's client councils (groups of the bank's farming clients who meet to discuss issues and implement initiatives to contribute to the sustainability of rural communities) and CQUniversity Australia (CQUni), the program aims to provide teachers with the confidence to pass their learnings on to students by giving them access to farms, and providing them with a learning package to take back and use in the classroom.
It also hopes to encourage students to consider a career in agriculture. A lot of students might not have a connection to agriculture, but if their teachers are showcasing ag in their classrooms, it might get them thinking about a career in the sector.
Feedback from last year's pilot program indicated prior to attending the program half of the teachers were not connected, or only distantly connected, to the agricultural industry. However, after completing the program, almost all (96 per cent) said they would encourage their students to consider a career in agriculture.
With plans to roll out TeacherFX across Australia, the Goulburn Valley TeacherFX will be the first to be held in Victoria, with the program including visits to a dairy farm, fruit and vegetable operation and fresh cut flower enterprise.
The group will also hear from Edwina Beveridge, a well-known pork producer, whose farm utilises a large quantity of food waste as pig feed and makes power from methane captured from pig manure - which saw her enterprise win the NSW EPA's Green Globe award in 2018, for resource efficiency.
The second day of the program will include interactive classroom sessions on how to collect and analyse agricultural data.
There is no charge for teachers to attend TeacherFX. More information can be found at www.teacherfx.com.au