St Mary’s College students are getting hands-on experience in preparing a new agriculture plot.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Gunnedah school purchased the 10.5 acre plot off Maitland Street in June 2017 to expand its agriculture program.
Agriculture teacher Lachlan James said the new plot will give the school the space to breed its own cattle and diversify.
“It became available and it's nice and close to the school’s other facilities so it makes logical sense to expand,” Mr James said.
“Any new facilities for any subject help the engagement and involvement of the students.
“It’s definitely a good thing.”
The teacher said the program had been “limited by space” in the original agriculture plot near the school where students prepare cattle for showing.
Mr James said the new site “increases the biodiversity” because it has a creek running through it and different types of flora.
“[The site] increases the student’s exposure to more agriculture and also gives the students studying biology access to land to study different types of biota in terms of trees and animals,” he said.
The new ag plot will be developed through a grant of $11,500 from a Local Land Services (LLS) ag extension sustainability/threatened species grant.
“We’re very happy that they’ve come on board,” Mr James said.
“At the moment, that funding has been used to put in a crossing across the creek, fencing and planting and weed control.”
The school will fund a new set of cattle yards for the plot and have been already actively involved in developing the site by laying pipes and concreting for the cattle yards.
“You can get the kids to learn by doing it,” Mr James said.
“It’s very good that we’ve been able to get the finances from LLS, otherwise we probably wouldn’t be able to set it up how we wanted to.”
The school hopes to have to plot up and running by early 2019, with plans for an open day.