Delivered by the Agriculture Alliance of New Brunswick (AANB), the Agriculture in the Classroom New Brunswick (AITC-NB) program is growing with the addition of new resources, courses and community engagement.

New resources

AITC-NB launched a new mini unit called Art and Agriculture in March 2023. Charlotte Flores, AITC-NB manager, says the new unit was created to support teachers without an art background and is full of many cross-curricular activities. The French version launched on the AITC-NB website in March 2024.

The program also created and distributed a New Brunswick Seed kit with lessons and activities tied to 15 seed varieties for Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month (CALM) 2023. This year, a Mystery Seed kit was available for teachers in Grades 5 to 7. The kit contains six seeds and includes a lesson plan, curriculum links, planting materials and a full spectrum light bulb.

New courses

In the fall of 2023, high school students were able to enrol in a new science course called AG110. For this academic year, the Anglophone districts are teaching 26 classes throughout the province.

“To support the course, AITC-NB led a working session for teachers at the Summer Learning Institute,” says Flores. “This event included a review of resources, course review and a farm tour around Fredericton.”

AITC-NB also supplied resource kits including a water garden (hydroponics), Career Case Game, Snap Ag information sheets, Mystery Seed kit and a Little Green Sprouts growing station. Additional support for staff and students is available through one-on-one teacher support, guest speaker visits and field trips to the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada research centre in Lincoln.

Community engagement

In the summer of 2023, AITC-NB partnered with NB Fairs and Exhibitions to attend regional fairs. Flores explains that this initiative was created to engage the community about the AITC-NB program and the importance of agriculture in the future.

“If we are successful in engaging youth with agriculture and supporting them to pursue it as a career, they may still be met with resistance from family members or their community,” she says. “This effort is to create a knowledgeable community who will support agriculture initiatives in the future. It also helps us to engage with teachers and students with hands-on activities and resources.”

Career education

I AM AG, I AM THE FUTURE is a national campaign that builds the conversation about careers in agriculture. Through this program, members of the ag community are able to highlight the attributes they use in their careers, while students choose their attributes. Matching careers are shared with them and links are provided for further research.

“In New Brunswick, we had 140 videos created, and have shared the campaign at fairs, expos and AGM’s across the province,” says Flores.

CALM 2024

AITC-NB was busy in March with CALM 2024 including participating in the 4H Leadership weekend with hands-on stations focused on careers in agriculture.

The Nackawic Ag Expo had 600 students from five schools join AITC-NB to meet and engage with members of the agricultural community. The organization delivered 80 Mystery Seed kits and 1,100 books and hosted a huge photo contest.

Feedback from the Ag Expo was extremely positive. Andrea Versloot and Andrew Sytsma from the New Brunswick Soil and Crop Improvement Association (NBSCIA) said as young ambassadors in the agricultural industry, it brings them great joy to share their passion with other young minds with the hope of inspiring them to develop their own interest in this amazing industry.

“It was really encouraging to see that this young generation appreciates the importance of local farming,” said Jaeson Waygood from Waygood Farms. “All the kids quickly agreed that it is important for communities to have access to local food.”

Amanda Gaudet from NB Egg Farmers said they had a great day interacting with all the students who made their way through the Nackawic Ag Expo talking everything ag and egg.

“The students came with wonderful questions and eager minds to learn about the industry and it was fun to see their eyes widen as we explained the work that goes into producing eggs for the province and the growing technology that is helping to keep our industry strong and sustainable,” she said.

Future projects

In April, AITC-NB participated in a career expo, a skills NB Try a Trade event, two field trips to the AAFC research centre, a teacher farm tour and two ag presentations for AG110 classes. There are also some new projects in development and the program will wrap up Little Green Thumbs and Little Green Sprouts while launching a new year of Spuds in the Tub.

More info

Part of AITC-Canada, the national voice for agriculture education with a vision for agriculture in every classroom and inspiring every student, AITC-NB acts to engage New Brunswick students and educators to enhance their knowledge of agriculture and food. The program has 73 volunteers who have delivered 1,806 resources, 88,370 student experiences and 3,551 teacher experiences.

Learn more on the AITC-NB website www.aitc-aec-nb.ca and follow it on Facebook www.facebook.com/AITC.AEC.NB or YouTube @agricultureintheclassroomnb.