One thing parents won’t have to worry about as the kids head back to school this year is a lack of opportunity for them to keep in touch with ranching, thanks to a new teaching tool launched by the Alberta Beef Producers at the Haskayne Legacy Park pavilion this week.
Titled “Running with the Ranchers,” (RWR) the interactive program was officially unveiled Sept. 4 by Lindsay Roberts, Marketing and Education Manager for Alberta Beef Producers at a talk sponsored by the Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation (GRPF).
RWR is being offered in conjunction with Alberta elementary schools, featuring classroom modules as well as hands-on time with real ranchers. Producers and teachers will bring the story of beef “from farm to plate” to local classrooms.
Students in Grades 1 through 6 at participating schools will complete the “book learning” sections, following the activities of an actual beef operation throughout the year, and also have one-on-one time with a producer.
The Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation is a partner in RWR, and will provide a hands-on session for participants at the ranch.
Classes will follow a selected cow from fall gathering to pasture entry the following spring through video content and virtual meetings with their rancher. The aim is to highlight key sectors within the beef industry from cow-calf, background, finishing, auctions and more. Through the months of May and June, students within the Calgary area will join Glenbow Ranch for a day to experience a real working ranch and personally connect the activities to lessons taught throughout the year.
“This gives kids the hands-on experience that they might not normally have exposure to, they might not have that direct connection to where their food comes from,” Roberts said.
She said from an economic importance standpoint, there’s a reason beef is synonymous with Alberta – it’s one of the “Three C’s” that make up the bulk of agriculture in the province: Cows, Canola and Corn.
Forty-six per cent of the cattle in Canada are found in Alberta grasslands. There are more cows in Alberta than people.
Roberts, a self-described city slicker who spent more time on friends’ ranches than at home growing up, also claimed some “ranching cred” with the crowd when she noted her great grandfather was part of the cattle drive that brought the first herd to Alberta.
“I have a passion for the industry. So it breaks my heart when I see kids who don’t understand (where their food comes from),” she said.
Environmental aspects of ranching (grassland conservation, species at risk, greenhouse gas emissions, riparian protection) are also covered in the modules.
On their visits to the Glenbow Ranch, students will see first hand how cattle are interacting with the wetlands and grasslands.
Roberts said agricultural literacy helps develop young minds and provide that deeper connection to the community and the environment.
“It’s interdisciplinary learning. It’s not just science and not just math – agricultural learning allows you to combine all those things,” she said.
“It’s engineering, but it’s also an art form, it’s also nutrition planning, critical thinking skills,” Roberts said.
As an offshoot, agricultural learning may also open students’ eyes to possible career paths.
Agricultural literacy is actually a mandatory curriculum requirement in Alberta, she added.
Six different grade-specific modules are available for teachers who sign up for Running with the Ranchers.
Roberts said students will benefit from identifying a red angus up close and personal, as opposed to just in a video.
Students will also get the chance to create their own brands, something the Stockmen’s Memorial Foundation is actively involved in, as seen at the recent Discovery Days in Cochrane.
Executive Director Scott Grattidge said Stockmen’s has been involved in cattle/ranching education with local elementary schools for a number of years now.
“Education is a large part of the Stockmen’s mandate. The livestock industry played an integral role in the creation of Alberta as province,” he said.
“Stockmen’s has a variety of programming from Grade 1 up to high school that allows students to appreciate the role livestock had and still has today in our province.”
For more information about Running with the Ranchers go to abpdaily.com.