REAPING THE REWARDS OF TRAINING

Telling the dairy story in
schools
The Rosie Education programme is one way DairyNZ is telling the dairy story to children,
parents and teachers.
DairyNZ’s education programme gives teachers access to
curriculum-approved learning resources to teach children about
dairy farming.
A range of lesson plans means dairy farming can be taught
as a topic or incorporated through other subjects like science,
maths, social studies, geography and history.
Known as Rosie’s Education, the programme is promoted
to schools and teachers throughout New Zealand. Over 6000
teachers have used the dairy education lessons in more than
1800 schools.
A taste of farm life
Cambridge Primary School studied dairy farming through
the Rosie Education programme last term. Teacher Natalie
McNamara says students were keen to learn about the topic.
“The students learnt a lot about how farms operate and were
particularly interested in the science lessons,” says Natalie.
As part of the education programme, DairyNZ runs the Find a
Farmer service, which links schools with a local dairy farm to host
a school visit.
Natalie says the majority of students had never been on a dairy
farm and it was the perfect way to bring their studies to life.
“The experience was very informative and a trip the children
will remember for quite some time,” says Natalie.
“Having the opportunity to visit a farm was a great way to
experience what they learnt in class. The students enjoyed
meeting a couple of dairy farmers and had plenty of questions.”
Promoting careers in dairy
As well as helping students understand dairy farming and
where their milk comes from, many of the lessons provide an
introduction to careers in the industry – on and off the farm.
Children gain an understanding of the diverse roles of dairy
farming and other careers supported by the industry.
Dairy farmer Frank Portegys hosted Cambridge Primary School
and says the students were excited to be on the farm.
“The kids got to see the whole process of were milk comes
from and the wide range of activities involved in dairy farming
– from milking cows and rearing calves to looking after the
environment.
“When you see them make the connection between the dairy
products in their lunchbox to the cows being milked and the
tanker collection, that’s a good thing for the industry.”
If you would like to sign up to DairyNZ’s Find
a Farmer service and host children on-farm
visit dairynz.co.nz/find-a-farmer.
Inside Dairy | November 2016 17