How can we create a business, product or proposal that supports food security in our local community?
That’s the question Taroona High School students set out to solve in their newly launched Food Security Integrated Learning Program.
The Integrated Learning Program allowed students to complete half of their science and English curriculum while solving real food issues within their immediate community.
Learning was designed and delivered by specialist teachers in partnership with Industry experts such as CSIRO and our team at Eat Well Tasmania. Students studied the topic of food security through an integrated learning model using a combination of investigation, explicit learning and hands-on experiences.
Over Term One and Two, students investigated questions such as: How can we use farm-bot technology to grow vegetables? What are the best crop options for my balcony? How can I use technology to choose the best site for food production? How can I influence the council to make businesses share their food waste?
As a supporting partner of the program, we were excited to provide students with a real-world context to motivate them to become involved and see the relevance of the food security issue.
Students delivered their final proposals on November 3rd—a deep empathy for community coupled with passion to solve the problem, made for inspiring and creative solutions.
Projects included hydroponics kits to enable consumers to farm fish at home, community garden installations, culture and awareness-building campaigns, and projects that looked at food waste and their school canteen.
Ultimately students understood that they could be problem solvers through their learning—and that solutions must provoke from community an understanding of partnership and empathy, to inspire change.
It was a pleasure to observe students’ growing understanding of their local food systems and find ownership and a voice in creating solutions.
