Money will go towards the Teacher Ambassador program
By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com
Elementary and high-school students in Oxford County will see the benefits of an Oxford Junior Farmers cash donation to AgScape.
The “generous donation,” as indicated in Monday’s press release, will help fund AgScape’s Teacher Ambassador program, which gives local teachers access to an ambassador to deliver free, in-class lessons about agriculture and food.
Receiving the donation is an honour, according to Colleen Smith, executive director with AgScape.
“We are absolutely thrilled that we were selected as their organization of choice,” she told Farms.com yesterday. “(Oxford Junior Farmers) liked our program and I think they see the donation is being used to cover as broad a range as possible within the agriculture sector.”
Since current generations of students are less connected to agriculture, having the opportunity to teach them about farming is crucial.
“Oxford County is an agricultural community but many students are unaware of the strong links we have to our farming roots,” Drew De Bruyn, a member of Oxford County Junior Farmers, said in the release. “Our group wants to help provide sound information about agricultural practices and the food system to students in Oxford County.”
The Teacher Ambassador program targets students between grades 7 and 12. Lessons include local food, career opportunities, livestock production and biotechnology.
Introducing students to agriculture in earlier grades can help them carve out a career path they might not otherwise have thought about, said Smith.
“We find that, by grade 12, many students know what careers they want to go into,” Smith said. “We do a more extensive program in grade 10 because that’s where our career modules are particularly effective.”
More information on AgScape’s Teacher Ambassador program can be found on the organization’s website.