TIMBOON P-12 School has been successful in its application to the Secondary Schools Agriculture Fund (SSAF) to integrate even more STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) learning objectives into its curriculum to inspire the next generation of farmers and today’s fledgling engineers.

This announcement comes as Timboon P12 hosted its TAP’s On! Curriculum expo in early November, celebrating the wonderful curriculum revolving around agriculture the school has on offer. Over 500 children from Timboon P12 and Nullawarre Primary took part in the day, which featured MasterChef contestant Tim Bone who shared his MasterChef journey, and also cooked some nutritious dishes using local ingredients.

Children from the Timboon and District Kindergarten and Kardinia Learning centre also attended, exploring the various workstations the day had to offer and taking home sunflower seeds to plant.

The day had it all; MasterChef, a tractor, one of the country’s best dairy cows, small engine displays, alpacas, goats and sheep; all designed to show kids the great things a career in agriculture has to offer.

The Timboon project will expand on the current Timboon Agriculture Project (TAP) curriculum based applied learning opportunities and will provide a platform for the development of a new Year 9/10 AgHort Connections elective combining STEM, commerce and humanities to showcase to students, teachers and our community the diverse range of rewarding career opportunities in agriculture.

The school has received $56,000 which will be used to create even more real and relevant curriculum and engagement opportunities for all students, especially in the Year 9/10 AgHort cohort. During immersion, field trips, workplace tours and incursions students will learn about the myriad of careers across paddock to plate pathways and that there are many ways to contribute to help feed the world.

A FarmBot robotic open hardware system will be purchased to enable students to work in a small garden growing food with capacity to weed, water, soil test with students refining their coding skills to generate tasks. Other tools like 3D printers and drones to provide spatial and data-based analytics, a greenhouse to conduct experiments and other engagement tools will be utilized.

This project will continue to share the work of the TAP facilitating an applied learning approach in the P-12 classrooms, linking the curriculum with tasks and activities associated with specific occupations and industries and keep contributing to strategic planning and program development in industry, community and education partnerships. 

The Secondary Schools Agriculture Fund forms part of the Labor Government’s $50 million investment in the Agricultural College Modernisation Program – helping more students pursue careers in agriculture and meet the growing demands of the growing farm, food and fibre sector.

Improving access to vocational education and training (VET) is part of the Senior Secondary Pathway Reforms, offering students more choices that match their strengths and interests.

For more information visit vic.gov.au/secondary-schools-agriculture-fund.