Achieving best outcomes for farmers, consumers and the planet requires building deep and lasting relationships with everyone from paddock to plate. Young people may only be 20% of the population but they are 100% of the future and they are the perfect place to start
The Archibull Prize is an innovative and highly-successful project-based learning program designed to connect secondary school students with Australian agriculture and to empower these students to make changes for a better world. For over a decade the program has engaged students with Young Farming Champions to create a trusted partnership, which in 2021 will encapsulate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals with a focus on environmental awareness through the lens of agriculture.
In recent evaluation surveys it has been shown 80% of participating schools align their Archibull project to the curriculum and use it for assessment tasks. A further 20% of participating schools align their Archibull project with pillars of their strategic plan for student growth, to build capacity of school leaders, to extend gifted and talented students and to engage with their community and businesses.
Kris Beazley is the principal of the Centre of Excellence in Agricultural Education -Richmond Agricultural College and looks forward to embarking on the 2021 Archibull journey with the school’s inaugural Year 7 AgSTEM specialty class.
“Our school plan links directly to partnered learning and transdisciplinary learning with an alignment to AgSTEM, sustainability, Aboriginal Knowledges and AgSTEM careers education. This program is a perfect fit,” Kris says.
The Archibull Prize will be embedded into the school’s curriculum and used as part of the assessment process.
“The program will be aligned to our transdisciplinary course: Applied Learning. The Year 7 focus in this course in Semester One will be Water and the World with a focus on peri urban water use. In Semester Two the focus will be Biotechnology. The Archie program will be integrated into our design thinking pedagogy. We will not only capture elements in our formative assessment, we will also utilise the program to facilitate student’s completion of our Capability framework for Year 7.”
Our world today is full of increasingly complex global issues like rising inequality, climate change, sustainability of resources and a rapidly changing economy, just to name a few. If we are to reverse the damage that has been done, and ensure a sustainable future for future generations, we need to act now.
We all have a role to play in helping Australia reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal targets. By participating in The Archibull Prize students will look at the Global Goals through the lens of agriculture and work with farmers to see how their local community can meet Australia’s commitment to the Global Goals.
These commitments can be best achieved when The Archibull Prize is aligned to school strategic plans, can be embedded into the curriculum and can be used as an assessment task.
Expressions of Interest to participate are now open here
#GlobalGoals #SDGs #ArchieAction2021 #YouthVoices2021
Mega shout out to our supporting partners empowering the changemakers