‘Down on the farm’ latest Enviroschools annual expo

Date: 11 November, 2013

‘Down on the farm’ latest Enviroschools annual expo

More than 100 students, teachers and family members have gathered near Whangarei to learn more about sustainable farming practices – and the contribution they make to Northland’s economy.

The first of two annual Enviroschools’ expos – this year themed ‘Down on the Farm’ – was held at the Kokopu property of award-winning brother and sister farmers Charmaine and Shayne O’Shea recently. (SUBS: Tues 05 Nov) (A second expo – planned for Taupo Bay on Thursday 07 November had to be cancelled due to bad weather.)

Susan Karels, the Northland Regional Council’s Regional Enviroschools Co-ordinator, says the first expo had gone ahead in fine weather and been a “roaring success”.

It was hosted at the O’Shea’s 93 hectare dairy farm which earned them the title of Ballance Farm Environment Award Supreme Award winner earlier this year.

Mrs Karels says expo participants, most of them students aged seven to 12 from the wider Whangarei area (including Parua Bay across to Tangowahine and Ruakaka) learned from several agricultural and other experts, including Mr O’Shea.

Over the course of the day-long expo, participants had rotated between four ‘action stations’; ‘super silage’, ‘possum plucking’ ‘dairy shed antics and awesome effluent’ and ‘wetland wilderness’.

The light-hearted names and fun hands-on learning had nonetheless covered some serious issues including looking at sustainable farming practices, the roles wetlands play, pest management, effluent treatment and supplementary feeding.

“Farming is a key contributor to Northland’s regional economy and one which offers great careers for many young people,” Mrs Karels says, “however, it can be a challenge to do so sustainably sometimes and the expos were all about learning how to do this.”

She says while some participants came from a rural background, a number of the areas covered would have been a new experience for many of those taking part.

While previous years’ expos had examined bush and water themes, this month’s had been particularly exciting for the sheer scale and variety of experiences it introduced across a range of senses.

“Students tasted milk from a vat, felt the heat generated by silage, smelled all sorts of interesting farm odours and took in the beauty of the wetland.”

Mrs Karels says one of the guiding principles of the Enviroschools programme is sustainable communities (schools, ecosystems and people) and the way these work together for future good. The expos had reinforced this link.

She says information about the Enviroschools Programme generally is available from the regional council’s website via: www.nrc.govt.nz/enviroschools

ENDS

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