SEED junior school goes national

MEDIA RELEASE - SEED junior school resources go national

December 2016

The Southern Forests SEED Program has partnered with national education body, the Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia (PIEFA), to distribute the SEED program's junior school program nationally.The programs will be publicised via PIEFA's website, Primezone.

The SEED Program, which is funded by Royalties for Regions under the Shire of Manjimup's Agricultural Expansion project, developed the integrated agriculture education programs for schools within the Shire to utilise.

Shire President Wade DeCampo explained that the initiative aims to address the lack of resources that are available to teachers to bring agriculture into the classroom. "There was no focus on the products grown in our region, the Southern Forests, representing a knowledge gap that has the potential to continue on for much longer than the primary school age," said Cr DeCampo, who added that the programs easily integrate across different areas of the school curriculum.

Four junior school programs were developed for the SEED program in 2016 by local teacher Heidi Tempra - - Amazing Apples, Powerful Potatoes, Beautiful Bees and Contented Cows - along with a STEM program for middle school on Food Biomes. The development of the programs was supported by teachers at St Joseph's School in Pemberton and East Manjimup Primary School, who also piloted the programs in the classroom.

Shire of Manjimup Shire President Wade De Campo said that the programs being distributed nationally on Primezone was validation that the work done by the SEED program was useful to school teachers and valued by the education sector on a national level.

"The SEED program has aimed to enhance the reputation of agriculture to re-establish the appeal of a career in this sector, and in this region. These primary school programs are key in developing an early learning interest in agriculture, among both teachers and students, with the goal being to aspire children to consider agriculture in their future," Cr De Campo said.

These programs will be available online from PIEFA's resources website, Primezone www.primezone.edu.au .

For further information, please contact Stephanie Carstairs, Education Development Officer for the Shire of Manjimup on 0417 881 665 or stephanie.carstairs@manjimup.wa.gov.au - or visit the Shire of Manjimup website. www.manjimup.wa.gov.au/SEED .

-ENDS-

Authorised by Andrew Campbell, Chief Executive Officer

Contact Gina Nieuwendyk, Coordinator Communication and Executive Support

Contact: 9771 7777

Contact for comment: Wade DeCampo, Shire President

Contact: 0427 094 081