In this episode of the Growing the Future podcast, host Dan Aberhart interviews Sara Shymko, the executive director of Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) Saskatchewan. The conversation highlights the Acres for Education campaign aimed at raising $100,000 to provide farm visits and out-of-school experiences for students. This episode underscores the critical need to inspire future generations to consider careers in agriculture and the collective effort required from the industry.
A grade-five student once asked Sara Shymko for a seed to plant cheese. It's a funny story, but it's also the whole problem: most kids growing up today, including plenty in farm country, have almost no real picture of where their food comes from or what modern agriculture actually looks like.
Shymko, executive director of Agriculture in the Classroom Saskatchewan and interim executive director for the national organization, joins the show to talk about what actually changes a kid's mind about agriculture, and it isn't a single assembly or a career-day pitch. It's repeated, hands-on experience: growing a plot, visiting a farm, holding a plant instead of just hearing about one. She's joined by the host and his teenage son, who brings a current high schooler's blunt take on what agriculture education actually looks like in the classroom right now.
What's Inside
- Why fewer than half of students in one survey thought farmers use a computer to do their job
- The difference between a one-and-done school visit and an experience that actually changes how a kid thinks about a career
- Why agriculture isn't part of the curriculum in most provinces, and what that means for the thousands of teachers who'd need to bring it in themselves
- What a current high schooler says would actually make agriculture look interesting to his classmates
- How a farm family can get involved, from hosting a tour to a simple per-acre donation
Connect with Sara:
Website: aitc-canada.ca
Facebook: AITCCanada
Twitter: AITCCanada
Instagram: aitccanada
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbDjICByAj9euDpyUMb9aZg
Connect with Growing the Future
Website: growingthefuture.ca
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Instagram: @growingthefuturepodcast
LinkedIn: Growing the Future
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