The Canola Learning Centre (CLC) display at this year’s Royal Winter Fair was a hands-down winner, say elated organizers.

The display took best educational display award at the Royal for its content and overall learning experience, says Joan Heath, Extension Co-ordinator with the Saskatchewan Canola Development Commission (SCDC) and co-ordinator of the CLC at the Royal.

“The CLC display took second place last year. We worked hard to expand the content and interactivity, which helped us take top place this year. It’s an honour to win the award and it exemplifies the tremendous effort by all the organizers involved from the canola industry,” she adds.

But more importantly Heath feels the canola messages presented were well received by the record number of visitors to the display. Over 40,000 students and over 60,000 adults took in the display from November 7 to 16. The display was run by staff and farmer Directors from Canada’s canola grower organizations.

The display featured the story of canola, from planting to finished products. It was designed to appeal to school kids, educators, dietitians, and especially consumers. "There were lots of fun activities for kids,” she says.

The display also featured a series of mini display areas focusing on different ways canola can be used from soaps, bath balms, lotions and creams made with canola, to how canola is used as an environmentally friendly lubricity additive for diesel fuels.

“Visitors scooped up most of the information pieces we provided from recipes to facts about how canola fits into a healthy diet, and a great package of materials for educators to assist them in incorporating canola facts into an upper elementary curriculum,” says Heath.

The most popular portion of the display was the familiar dietary fat chart, which lists the fatty acid contents of the most commonly available oils. Since canola was at the top with the lowest saturated fat and one of the highest omega-3 contents, it provided a way to discuss the positive health features of canola.

“The most often asked question concerned trans fatty acids. We explained how they are produced and what foods might contain them. We explained how to read labels to better understand what’s in foods. And we also made a point of noting that, while we can’t dictate to food manufacturers what they use in their products, high-oleic canola oil is an alternative now available that doesn’t produce trans fats in food. There was a lot of interest in high-oleic canola,” says Heath.

Visitors could also talk with canola farmers and view pictures of their farms. The farmers were kept busy answering a range of questions about farm life and growing canola.

“We feel we generated a tremendous amount of good will between consumers and the canola industry. And a lot more people have a better understanding of the benefits and uses of canola,” declares Heath.

Canola grower groups in the Prairie Provinces and Ontario run CLCs in their provinces. CLCs are designed to tell the story of canola in an entertaining way. The CLCs are held on farms and at major agricultural shows. The CLC at the Royal is a collaborative effort of Canadian canola grower organizations—Alberta Canola Development Commission (ACPC), SCDC, Manitoba Canola Growers Association (MCGA), and the Ontario Canola Growers Association (OCGA)—the Canola Council of Canada, the Canadian Canola Growers Association, and support from Dow AgroSciences Canada Inc.

A selection of pictures of the CLC at the Royal are available at:

www.canola-council.org/nutrition/royalclc/royalpictures.html