Beside the jungle gyms, running track and basketball nets, students returning to Irvine School this fall will have a new micro-farm.
Nichole Neubauer of Neubauer Farms located near Medicine Hat, said the Irvine School Agricultural Discovery Centre, expected to be launched in September, has a simple, bold goal. Irvine, Alta., is a stone’s throw from the Saskatchewan border along Highway 1.
“We’re creating a template as to what agricultural education can look like in a rural school,” she said.
The school will be populated with cow, calves, goats, hogs and hens, as well a greenhouse and garden.
Read Also
First annual Ag in Motion Junior Cattle Show kicks off with a bang
Ag in Motion 2025 had its first annual junior cattle show on July 15. The show hosted more than 20…
“Everything is going to be raised to be harvested,” said Neubauer.
Rather than try to change the school curriculum, Neubauer said the discovery centre will take principles that are already being taught and put them in an agricultural context.
Whether it’s biological life cycles or recycling, students will have practical training for how to put those lessons to work and demonstrate how, “agriculture can be blended to create learning opportunities.”
The study of growth implants in cows will be part of what will be taught, said Neubauer, adding the purpose will be to examine the use of the growth promotion practices in reducing impacts to the environment by lessening the time to market.
Many of the school’s students might already have a solid background in agriculture but Neubauer says there is still a need to provide encouragement for youth to stay on the farm.
“We want to inspire for the future and for them to pursue the many careers in agriculture,” said Neubauer.
With about nine billion people expected to populate the planet by 2050 that’ll need to be fed, Neubauer says training future farmers and ranchers is critical.
“They are our industry’s future,” she said of the kids who will be learning at the discover centre.
