17 Mar 2023

Our Ag/Hort program goes from strength to strength

With a strong team of staff delivering the exciting Ballarat Grammar Ag/Hort program, it’s clear that Grammar sees great value in students and community understanding the importance of agriculture in the Australian economy.

Ballarat Grammar’s nearby 120-acre farm campus provides a fantastic opportunity for students from Kinder to Year 12 to see and experience Agriculture / Horticulture concepts in a hands-on way. Ballarat Grammar’s kindergarten children relish their learning in Bush Kinder in the farm environment, and, for example, cradling warm eggs just collected from the chickens. Year 4 students check out the pigs before they are sold for meat, learning some of the realities of animal farming and food production, and Year 10 to 12s learn some of the impacts that the environment plays on agricultural pursuits, adding to their understanding of the role that sustainable agriculture will play in the future of the planet, for example, in food security.

Staff member Alan Ford is the ‘elder statesman’ of the program with more than 20 years teaching Ag / Hort subjects at Grammar. During his time, 37 Ballarat Grammar students have achieved the penultimate award in the subject, the Victorian Premier’s VCE Award for Studies in Agriculture/Horticulture. A graduate from the University of Melbourne in Veterinary Science, Alan provides an incredible range of experiences to students, currently managing many of the learning programs at the Mount Rowan farm campus.

Alan was responsible for introducing VCE Ag Hort subjects and VET Agriculture at Grammar in 2000, and one of his students in that year was Laura Molloy, now an Old Grammarian and back teaching at Grammar. With a great deal of hard work, Laura earned herself one of the first of those Premier’s Awards. Now an educator herself, she focuses on teaching the Certificate II in Agriculture at Grammar, meaning students can leave the school with a qualification already under their belt. VET Ag students can select a livestock production or cropping context as a job focus or, in the case of mixed farming enterprise experiences, both.

Other valued teaching staff include Dr Joanna Kemp, who teaches Mathematics, Science and Agriculture/Horticulture and lends an incredible breadth of academic and real-world research experience, having spent a significant amount of time outside the classroom working in research in Immunology and Agricultural Science. Matt Fitzgerald teaches Ag/Hort subjects and is the Ag/Hort programs co-ordinator at the school, helping to arrange Ag/Hort experiences for students, including show opportunities in country NSW and Victoria. Passionate Old Grammarian Caitlin Grieve assists with the show program, helping with logistics, preparing animals for showing as well as guiding students with handling and showing animals.

Jo Ham is enjoying getting students started in some of the lower year level electives, as well as teaching senior year levels in Ag / Hort. Developing curriculum that captures the attention of students in years 8 and 9 has been one of her recent keen passions as an educator. Having been part of a farming business for 22 years, Jo has a significant amount of knowledge to pass on.

Farm Manager Roger Mills helps to instruct student groups visiting the farm campus, helping them to contextualise their learning in real-world experiences. Roger grew up on a farm, studied Ag Science and is an experienced and passionate member of the Grammar farm community. Roger enjoys being able to provide students the opportunity to see, do, and learn things they might not otherwise get the chance to do.

Roger said, “We are so fortunate to have the Mount Rowan Farm campus. It provides students the gift of hands-on experience with a large variety of agricultural related activities; the students can see the theory in action. For example, we have a great partnership with a large organisation who grows seed for leafy vegetables on our farm, in a hydroponic poly tunnel. It’s such a great learning experience for our students to see Agriculture businesses like this, operating in a real agribusiness world.

Jo Ham is enjoying getting students started in some of the lower year level electives, as well as teaching senior year levels in Ag / Hort. Developing curriculum that captures the attention of students in years 8 and 9 has been one of her recent keen passions as an educator. Having been part of a farming business for 22 years, Jo has a significant amount of knowledge to pass on.

Farm Manager Roger Mills helps to instruct student groups visiting the farm campus, helping them to contextualise their learning in real-world experiences. Roger grew up on a farm, studied Ag Science and is an experienced and passionate member of the Grammar farm community. Roger enjoys being able to provide students the opportunity to see, do, and learn things they might not otherwise get the chance to do.

Roger said, “We are so fortunate to have the Mount Rowan Farm campus. It provides students the gift of hands-on experience with a large variety of agricultural related activities; the students can see the theory in action. For example, we have a great partnership with a large organisation who grows seed for leafy vegetables on our farm, in a hydroponic poly tunnel. It’s such a great learning experience for our students to see Agriculture businesses like this, operating in a real agribusiness world.