Ontario farmer and high school teacher Nicole Swain was presented with the 2017 AgScape Teacher Recognition Award today, in partnership with Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show. A science teacher at Brooklin High School, Swain was recognized for teaching students about the importance of agriculture.
Swain teaches biology and environmental studies to Grades 9-12 students with the Durham District School Board. She’s also a beef and cash crop farmer with her husband Scott. “Sharing our family farm experiences with my students puts a face to the people who grow their food,” says Swain. “I love the days that my lessons are about soil health, crop protection and precision agriculture. And it’s truly an honour to receive this award.”
Outside her classroom, Swain developed the Durham Farm Connections High School Program to lead high school students through interactive, science-based agricultural topics. She encourages other science teachers to teach about agricultural sciences, and co-manages the Agriculture Specialist High Skills Major program to help students explore career opportunities and coordinate co-op placements within the agriculture industry.
“Nicole is a true ambassador for science and agriculture, and we’re so proud to recognize her work with our 2017 Teacher Recognition Award,” says AgScape Executive Director Colleen Smith. AgScape presents an annual award to an Ontario teacher to acknowledge an individual’s outstanding efforts to bring ag literacy alive in the classroom.
AgScape is a registered charitable organization providing reliable and balanced resources to Ontario schools on agriculture, food production, environmental sustainability and related topics. AgScape, formerly OAFE, was created in 1991 with the mission of building awareness and understanding of the importance of our agriculture and food system. For more information visit www.agscape.ca, follow us on Twitter @AgScapeON and like us on Facebook.com/AgScapeON
Source: AgScape