Grade 3 Students Become Farmers For a Day
More than 300 Grade 3 students will become farmers for a day at the Cole Harbour Heritage Farm this week.
Farmer for a Day gives students from elementary schools in Halifax Regional Municipality a chance to explore traditional and modern-day farming through interactive activities and sessions with representatives from the agricultural sector. Student groups will visit the farm today, Sept. 24 to Thursday, Sept. 26.
"Farmer for a Day provides urban students with a unique, hands-on farming experience," said acting deputy minister of Agriculture Paul LaFleche. "This kind of opportunity is important because it helps young people to respect and value the role of agriculture in our lives, and to begin to make the connection between supporting local farmers and the food on our tables."
Students will learn about how food is produced and how far it travels from the farm to the plate. Other sessions include incubating chicken eggs, learning what makes a successful farmer, and a relay race to discover the parts of fruits and vegetables grown in Nova Scotia.
"It is so important for farmers to share our experiences and promote our industry," said Dennis Boudreau, president of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture. "Having this opportunity to connect with students is a great way to share our message with our future consumers on the importance of agriculture."
The Cole Harbour Heritage Farm Museum is owned and operated by the Cole Harbour Rural Heritage Society. The farm has been operating continuously for more than 200 years.
"The farm is dedicated to preserving and interpreting Cole Harbour's agricultural history, while developing an understanding of farming today," said Janice Kirkbright, the society's executive director. "As a farm in the city, we are uniquely poised to provide an agricultural experience to urban children."
Farmer for a Day is supported by the Ag Awareness and Education Initiative, a Growing Forward 2 cost-shared program between the governments of Canada and Nova Scotia.
The new five-year Growing Forward 2 agreement is a $3-billion investment in innovation, competitiveness and market development, which includes $2 billion cost-shared 60/40 for programs delivered by provinces and territories (a 50 per cent increase in cost-shared funding), as well as $1 billion for federal-only strategic initiatives.