Taking the sugarcane story to schools From school visits for National Agriculture Day to the launch of a teachers’ resource, November has seen a focus on education at CANEGROWERS. A Gordonvale cane farm provided the backdrop for the launch of a new curriculum-aligned teaching resource on the sugarcane industry.
The inspiring video was shared across social media on #AgDay. Its reach and impact will continue well into the future as it is listed as a resource in a range of school platforms and is available via the CANEGROWERS website and YouTube channel.
Called One Plant, Many Products, the resource was developed through the CANEGROWERS membership of the Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia (PIEFA) and is ready for teachers and students to access through the Primezone website.
Careers in agriculture was the theme for a visit by six growers to Home Hill State High School. CANEGROWERS Burdekin Chairman Phil Marano said the board members talked to Year 7 and 11 students.
“We know that schools and teachers are expected to meet the requirements of the national curriculum which is why we have worked so hard with PIEFA to design this resource to be ready-made to do that while also including industry insights,” CANEGROWERS CEO Dan Galligan said.
“We explained our roles in the sugarcane industry and it was also important to talk to students about the opportunities for them in cane growing and agriculture in general,” Phil said. “It’s not just about growing cane but also about science and agronomy.
“Through lesson plans incorporating video and other resources like worksheets, the new package tells the story of sugarcane from the paddock to the packet and the many other possible uses of sugarcane are explored.”
“The students were interested in new products and directions for the industry into bio-products and asked questions about haulout and harvester driving. “Our other motivation was to try to help people understand the importance of cane growing in our district, for the economy and jobs.”
“This new CANEGROWERS resource targets years 5 to 8 science, design and technology and geography curricula with a fantastic introduction to cane production, milling, sugar production and value-adding of the product,” PIEFA CEO Luciano Mesiti said. CANEGROWERS is keen for the resource to also spark interest in the many and varied careers agriculture can offer, fitting in nicely with the focus for National Agriculture Day on 19 November (known as #AgDay) and its theme of Choose Your #AgVenture.
“It was important to talk to students about the opportunities for them in cane growing and agriculture in general.”
CANEGROWERS took up the challenge and with the assistance of Cairns Region grower Luke Calcagno, CANEGROWERS Isis manager Angela Williams, and Sugar Research Australia’s Phil Patane, made a careers information video. The three participants answered questions about their day-today work, how they got into their roles, and their view of the future of agriculture and the sugarcane industry in particular.
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