15 May 2020

By Jessica Micallef

Salesian College, Sunbury, students have brought the farm to their homes.

About 65 students undertaking Year 7 agriculture have had to adapt and learn how to harvest and grow produce from their own homes using pea seeds sent to them in the mail.

College principal Mark Brockhus said the school’s agriculture curriculum culture was very hands-on and couldn’t just be taught online.

‘We run sheep and cattle, giving students the opportunity to work with Simmental [cattle] and Corriedale and Poll Dorset studs [sheep]’, he said.

‘We also have a horticulture program where students can plant and cultivate seeds and vegetables.’

At home, students have been investigating how plants grow and what those plants need for best production.

‘They will then need to germinate the pea seeds and when their seedlings have developed, decide on one variable or condition they want to change’, Mr Brockhus said.

‘They will measure how the plants grow and the effect of this change variable.’

Mr Brockhus said that while home learning had presented a challenge, he was proud of how teachers, students and their families had adapted to remote learning.

‘Our students have been able to stay motivated and engaged, even though they aren’t in a classroom setting or on our property’, he said.

This article was originally published in the Sunbury & Macedon Ranges Star Weekly on 12 May 2020.