vaahe.org.au

North West/Central – Richard Crow

Mallee/Wimmera – Joc Jokantas

South Western/Geelong – Denise Hooke

Melbourne Metro/Mornington Peninsula – Andrew Cosby

Eastern/Gippsland – Chris Senini

Curriculum – Landlearn to be approached for a representative

Primary – Ann Riches

Industry – Luke Prime, Goulburn TAFE to be approached (Lorraine Tran is unable to continue)

General – Seleena Nichols

Although I had no intention to nominate for a role within the committee when I left home, I returned to my family two days later as President. I am sure many of you know very little about me so I will take this opportunity to introduce myself and provide some background. I am 40 this year, married with two kids, 10 and 7. Born in Tooradin, on the edge of Western Port Bay, I grew up in Berwick and Upper Beaconsfield. My father was the inaugural President of the Suffolk Sheep Breeders Association in the late 60s and my earliest farming memories are hanging around sheep pavilions and cuddling black faced lambs. I grew up with my own horses and was involved in Pony Club, trail riding and Riding for the Disabled. We also bred and showed poultry and raced pigeons for many years. After secondary school I attended Melbourne Uni studying Ag Science, but (in some ways regretfully) dropped out and changed to Primary Teaching. Throughout this period of my life, I spent many years working part time on golf courses as a groundsman and assisted in a Bonsai nursery which was the family business. After 14 years teaching I had become the Head of ICT at Scotch College Junior School. It was ICT, and further study in that field, that allowed me to transfer to the secondary school level.

My family and I moved from a postage stamp in Richmond to a 20 acre hobby farm on the outskirts of Ballarat in 2005 to take up the role of Head of Academic Computing at Ballarat Grammar. As soon as we moved my wife and I jumped at the chance to get back involved with animals and farming. We began a Lowline stud and started showing. After my first Ballarat Show, I joined the Ballarat Agricultural and Pastoral Societies’ Cattle Committee. In 2006 I began teaching a small group of Year 10 students AgHort. Ballarat Grammar has, for a long time now, been very successful at the VCE level with 22 students having received Premiers’ Awards for AgHort, thanks to the wonderful teaching of Dr. Alan Ford. However, a part from the students studying AgHort at the 3/4 level, very little else was happening. With over 25% of Senior School population being boarders and predominantly off farms, the interest and support was there to extend the AgHort program further down through the school. In 2007, the six students who made up the Year 10 AgHort class were recognised at an assembly for successfully running a Fat Lamb Enterprise. Winning the last three ‘Cows Create Careers’ Competitions for our region has also raised the profile and popularity of AgHort. This year I have 26 students taking the Year 10 Elective and 22 Year 11s taking the Unit 1/2 course. We have started our own Lowline stud, purchasing our first heifer from the proceeds of CCC, and a Corriedale stud, already competing successfully at local shows. The school has recently purchased a property to further extend the AgHort program, amongst other things.

Professionally, I have been involved in a range of activities that I am sure will help me in my role as President. Last year was a busy one. Half way through the year I changed from ICT Administration to become the Year 10 Level Coordinator with 168 students to look after. I wrote a case study for the AISV and RMIT that will be published with 9 others on Education in Sustainability. I completed my Masters in Education by writing a minor thesis on the development of the AgHort Program here at Ballarat Grammar. Late in the Year I took part in the Teacher Focus Group for AgHort and was one of the assessors in November correcting the VCE papers. Since taking on the role as President, I have joined the Victorian Schools Ethics Committee, representing the interests of AgHort programs in schools, and I am currently a member of the Study Review Panel for AgHort.

Despite the Global Financial Crisis and the ongoing drought, I still see so many positive signs for Agriculture and Horticulture in Australia. I am always sharing positive news, particularly in the way of career prospects, with my students and have no concerns about encouraging them to aim for entry into the tertiary sector studying associated courses. Just the other day I noted the Government had committed $175,000 to the PIEF.

“The Rudd Government has committed $175,000 in funding for the Primary Industries Education Foundation, which the NFF describes as a not-for-profit company formed to provide stimulating, factual and educationally-relevant materials about modern agriculture for use in Australia’s primary and secondary schools.” (http://sl.farmonline.com.au/news/nationalrural/agribusiness-and-general/general/agriculture-in-schools-initiative-wins-govt-backing/1490419.aspx - 20/4/09)

With the AgHort Studies review well underway, I encourage any of you involved in teaching AgHort at the VCE level to pass on your ideas for changes to the course, or things that you hope stay unchanged, to Seleena Nichols, Margy Wright, Andrew Cosby or myself, who are all on the panel review committee. Judging by the reaction, comments and input to discussions at the recent AgHort conference and on other occasions that this topic has been raised, the idea of having to put in an application to the Animal Ethics Committee for each and every occasion you plan to use animals in your teaching is something that concerns us all. Like it not, from the 1st of January this year it is now law that we do exactly that. Can I just say that the committee’s primary concern is the ethical treatment of animals, not the blocking of worthwhile AgHort programs or creating onerous, time wasting red tape for teachers. Obviously, using a preapproved activity is very easy and can even be submitted online the night before you run an activity. As time goes by more and more of these are being posted. If you are required to submit an application for an activity that is not preapproved, please write as much detail as possible, with particular emphasis on the welfare of the animal throughout the activity and what will happen to the animal at the conclusion. The committee is currently being trained to do school inspections, which is one of the requirements placed on the committee by the Government body overseeing it. In my opinion, the more inspections the committee does the more they will see how well animals in our care are treated, and as a consequence will be able to relax a little when discussing your applications. If at the end of the day they do inspect a school and find animals not being treated well then surely this is a good thing for the animals. In this situation it would be the role of the committee to assist the school to better care for the animal.

In finishing my first President’s Report can I just encourage all teachers of Agriculture and Horticulture in any area of Primary or Secondary School to sign up to be members of the VAAHE. Please feel free to contact your area representative, a member of the executive or myself with suggestions, stories, lesson ideas etc. Later in the year I am sure there will be PD opportunities available, which I hope to advise you of soon.

Matthew Dickinson