Canola Learning Centre Report 2008
The 2008 season at the Canola Learning Centre saw a record amount of children pass through its doors. Over 1020 children were greeted at Kelburn Farm. The beginning of the 12th year brought cold, rainy weather and therefore many mosquitoes later in the summer, but that didn’t stop the greater majority of the kids from venturing outside.
Late May was a bit colder than usual, which made some of the earlier tours a bit uncomfortable. As for June, it was very wet with some severe storms and tornado warnings that cancelled some tours, but most were able to reschedule. In July, the weather finally picked up and the greater part of the daycare tours came to the Learning Centre. August was hot which helped the crops and also made the outdoor activities more enjoyable.
This year one high school group was lucky enough to learn how to make canola-based biodiesel. Rex Newkirk from the Canadian International Grains Institute came to Kelburn Farm to show a group from Miles Mac Collegiate how to make biodiesel. Everyone found the demonstration very educational and interesting; with the teacher commenting “the biodiesel demonstration was excellent - the students really enjoyed that!”
Other students got the chance to play fun and educational games inside the classroom, such as:
- the canola crush, a real activity that both farmers and grain elevator managers do to test the quality of the canola seed;
- seed puzzles, matching pictures the seeds to the crop;
- the agriculture game show, a game where kids must work together to figure out which commodity is in the non-edible product;
- the Canola is People activity, tracking the steps it takes to get our food from the farm to the store;
- and the From Field to Plate puzzle, a game in which kids must match seeds to the correct food product.
Outside the kids got the chance to sweep for bugs, scout for weeds, study canola plants, see real farm machinery (including a chance to sit in a tractor), and play a few tag games.
Another successful and fun-filled year at the Canola Learning Centre has passed and there are many more to come. There were many enthusiastic children and adults that enjoyed themselves very much. |
