CENTRE WELLINGTON – Although Ontario has an abundance of rich farmlands, there is a significant need for more youth to pursue agricultural careers in the province.
That’s why AgScape, a non-profit organization, is working to bring agriculture and food education into all Ontario classrooms.
The organization hosted an AgScape ThinkAG Career Competition catered to empowering youth and educators to understand both agriculture and food systems.
The event took place at the Grand River Agricultural Society building beside the Grand River casino and racetrack in Elora on Nov. 20 and 21.
It included multiple groups of Wellington Catholic District School Board students in Grades 8 to 12 and 14 booths with various vendors representing careers across the agriculture and food industry.
“This event is important for youth and students because I find more and more students are getting disconnected to their food system and also their agriculture system,” AgScape event coordinator Madison Lammers told the Advertiser.
The students rotated through each booth learning information about the industry, playing informative games and earning points for a prize at the end.
Lives animals such as a horse, cow, pigs and alpacas were present to engage the students.
Vendors included veterinary technicians, farmers, financial representatives and soil scientists to showcase the vast amount of career options.
“We had 700 students yesterday come in and about 500 come in today … it just shows you that teachers and school boards are looking for opportunities to get their students engaged and hands-on with anything to do with agriculture,” Lammers noted.
This year will be the event’s second time running and due to the success may not be the last.
“I know that job openings are increasing year after year; the average age of the farmer is increasing year by year so we’re going to see a lot of people retiring soon and not a lot of people taking on the farms they are retiring from,” Lammers added concerned over the increasing disinterest.
During Lammers’ opening presentation to the students she explained agriculture-based jobs that may come as a surprise to some, noting one in nine jobs in Canada are in the agriculture and food industry.
The youth
St. Joseph Catholic School student Emmi Ross-Cunningham enjoyed the many vendors, particularly an activity consisting of digging for worms in soil.
She had been learning about agriculture in school, but her knowledge on the subject wasn’t vast.
She said the event was important for students as “you get to learn more about [agriculture] and it can help in the future if you want to do jobs with this stuff.”
St. John Catholic School student Milena Madronich doesn’t see herself in the industry but is sure the event has interested some other students.
“If you’re into agriculture … this is a really good event to go to and the activities are really fun,” she added.
The thinkAG Career Competition is currently available as an in-person and virtual event through a waitlist. To learn more about the organization visit the website agscape.ca.
