EDUCATION | August 12, 2019

The Farm – A twist on learning

Traditional learning may be a thing of a past, and the Rockyview school division plans to show exactly why this is true. More and more schools are taking an alternative approach to teaching by incorporating different classes like exposing students to learning how to build a house from the ground up next to real contractors, or learning how to grow sustainable food during the winter.

A school in Airdrie is spearheading “The Farm”, a 50/50 learning experience where students from grade nine and ten will spend half the day “on-farm” learning about agriculture, raising animals and planning and executing agriculture business plans. The other half of the day will be spent back in classrooms during regular classes such as Science and English.

The Farm, a pilot project, plans on building a layer facility where the students plan on raising 30 layer birds throughout the year, learning about bio-security, hen care, egg production and other elements that go into starting your own egg production facility.

Two students, Chase Yellowega and Carter Mitschke, both students going into grade ten are excited to have a different learning experience and get their hands dirty.

“I see teaching agriculture to students who don’t know a lot about it is going to have a big impact on them,” said Chase. “It will be good to get outside and not be inside all day,” added Carter.

The farm has been overseen by three teachers that teach for the Rockyview school division. Not only will they be teaching the students hands-on about agriculture, but they will be designing and learning about what different costs are associated with farming and how to sustain themselves.

EFA sits on the planning committee for The Farm and have been guiding and educating the teachers and kids on the different types of housing and hens while informing them on bio-security, the Start Clean- Stay Clean program and the animal care program.

Stay tuned for updates about The Farm on the EFA blog!