On a sunny Thursday afternoon, local Grade 3 and 4 students were invited to the Conservation Learning Centre (CLC) grounds for an exciting day of learning about agriculture at the farm.
In partnership with Agriculture in the Classroom Saskatchewan, the non-profit agricultural organization held their annual ‘Fall Food Farm’ to educate children about how the food on their tables are made.
“They are participating in a number of different agriculturally themed stations, learning about where their food comes from, helping them to make those connections themselves, and the food they eat and how it’s grown,” said Rachael Groat, the CLC’s community outreach coordinator.
The event featured seven various stations as students rotated through them in 10-minute intervals, getting the chance to learn through hands-on and interactive activities, including a pollinator lecture, a wheat harvesting area, a lesson on how flour becomes different food products, a canola station, a corn maze, a harvesting task, and a soil microbes experiment, where the organization buried cotton underwear to show participants how soil microbes break down cotton.
“The [students] planted potatoes and onions in the spring and they’re here harvesting them now in the fall,” said Groat. “We donate everything that’s harvested today to the Prince Albert Food Bank.”
Through 10 years of annually bringing classrooms to the grounds, Groat said she has continued to receive positive feedback from teachers.
“They really love this event. We have lots of repeat attenders. We also host a spring version, and most of these classes were here with us in the spring,” she said. “In the spring, they got to plan the garden. Now they’re here harvesting it. So evidence for me that teachers really appreciate it is that they’re returning year after year.”
Furthermore, she took notice of the excitement from the students.
“They are having a blast. They’re just thrilled to be here and outside and enjoying,” Groat said. “It’s so funny, the joy that they experience picking up things like potatoes and onions. Every time I walk over, they’re like, ‘Look, I got a potato.’ I think they’re having a great time and learning along the way.”
To Groat, watching students be immersed in the program—learning and having fun—is a feeling she can only describe as ‘meaning the world.’
“We put a lot of work and effort into putting on this event, and we have really faithful volunteers from the Ministry of Agriculture, from our community, from the backyard, and compost corner who show up to help us out,” she said. “It’s for [the students]. If they’re having a great time and they’re learning. That’s all I could ask.”
Looking to the near future, Groat hopes students continue their learning outside of the grounds.
“I hope that the students have a continued interest in farming and agriculture, in being outside, engaging with the world around them, in possibly growing their own food in their backyard or in a community garden,” she said.
Concluding the event, they harvested and are donating 300 pounds of potatoes and 38 pounds of onions to the Prince Albert Food Bank.
The Conservation Learning Centre is set to host their fifth annual ‘Fall Family Fun Day’ at the grounds on Oct. 3 from 12:00 p.m to 4:00 p.m.
“I do hope that the learning that happens here and their experiences carry with them through the rest of their lives,” Groat said.
