Newborns, new clubs and new learnings
If you have been driving along the ring road lately, you will have noticed four new additions to the Agri Centre running around. Four new lambs will be reared by students over the next eight weeks until they are ready to be weaned. This year, we’ve chosen to compare the growth rates of two different breeds: dairy and meat. Year 13 Ag/Hort students are responsible for weighing the lambs each week and recording their growth rates as part of their external examination topic. The data collected will be used as evidence in their assessments. Naturally, these lambs have become the most adored and visited in New Zealand, with other classes across the school getting the chance to visit and feed them.
Last week, Peter from our local Cambridge Vets Clinic visited to scan last year’s lambs, which are now grown Ewes to see if they were pregnant. Year 12 students were offered the opportunity to have a go at using the scanner equipment along with the ultrasound screen goggles. Pictured below is Kate having a go to see how many lambs Pee Wee has inside her.
There have also been new additions to Owl Farm as they are in the middle of calving season. Students from Years 9 - 13 are immersed in studying the processes involved in growing newborn calves to be productive milkers. Throughout the year, students learn the life cycles of mating, birthing, growing and producing. Junior students focus on specific management practices like feeding, vaccinating, and dehorning. In senior years, classes delve into topics ranging from the traits of cows and artificial insemination to the ethical, social, environmental, and economic influences of these farming practices.
Students also study reproductive technologies, rumen development, and Owl Farm's sustainable environmental practices, as well as explore business profitability.
A highlight for 2024 is the introduction of the Produce Club in Term Two. Miss Pirie has designed an exciting program using produce that would typically go to waste around the campus. Each week, Miss Pirie holds workshops to create various products. So far, the group has made fruit roll-ups using feijoas and mandarins, lavender rice and wheat packs, honey lip balm, dehydrated fruit (apples, kiwifruit, citrus), and walnut brittle. Students have also planted garlic for harvest at the end of the year. Future projects include creating packaging and labels, making beeswax lunch wraps, feijoa jam, harvesting lavender and garlic, and producing lavender soap. We hope to create gift hampers from the produce made throughout the year.
Earlier in the term, our incredible parent community came out to support Ag/Hort with parents Dan and Sam Ward spending many hours getting our vineyard organised for winter and beyond. A massive thank you from the staff and students and we look forward to seeing the fruits of their labour later in the year. They also took the time to educate our Produce Club and Year 11 students on winter pruning for a successful harvest in March. It is humbling to have parents in our community offering to help and be part of our journey, it is very much appreciated.
It is incredibly encouraging to see a significant number of Year 13 students enrolling in agri-related tertiary courses at Lincoln, Canterbury, Massey, and Waikato Universities. These students plan to study subjects such as Agribusiness and Food Marketing, Agricultural Commerce, Agricultural Science, Horticultural Science, Veterinary Science, Viticulture, and Forestry, to name a few. These students are the next generation influencing sustainable food production for our growing population.