Harvesting the future of the primary sector

Students monitoring germination success in the glasshouse (not in photo is Hilary Johnson monitoring this activity).

Agricultural and horticultural teachers in Aotearoa are putting in the mahi to sow seeds of passion within their ākonga, inspiring future leaders, makers, and creators of the primary sector industry. 

Kerry Allen, agricultural and horticultural science curriculum director at Sow the Seed, says teachers are working to make sure students understand the depth and breadth of careers in the primary sector.

“They make sure students have access to the knowledge, resources and skills they need right across the value chain of a whole range of agricultural and horticultural jobs.”

They are facilitators for helping students get into the primary industry, working hard to inspire and motivate. 

One such teacher is Coadette Low, Mt Albert Grammar School’s head of agriculture. Coadette worked part-time during her secondary school and university years in the shearing sheds. She then spent five years working within the primary sector of Australia’s meat industry, in a quality assurance, microbiology and auditing role, before becoming a teacher in 2014.

Agricultural and horticultural programmes are growing the future of primary industries in Aotearoa.

A key part of Coadette’s agricultural programme is utilising her primary industry connections to bring in leaders to meet students and build support networks.

She says this “provokes their passion” for the subject and opens their eyes to a world they can see themselves in. 

A farm in the city

Coadette says Mt Albert Grammar is special as it’s a “farm in the city”. They have sheep, cattle and layer hens on the school’s farm and there’s a vertical garden.

“We have a lovely view of the Sky Tower behind our gold kiwifruit orchard, which we have an educational licence for.

“We have students who are passionate about this subject, and unlike me who had contacts in rural, they don’t have that. But they still have that innate passion and want to be involved.”

She says so many students are loving the subject because it’s an applied science and takes them out of the classroom to “experience and be a part of it. They can see and touch what they are learning about”.

Another important aspect for Coadette is her work to inspire a new generation of female primary industry workers, helping to “change the tides” of a historically male-dominated industry.

“Females bring a different perspective and a different way of thinking and it’s all positive. They’re needed in this industry.”

Coadette is passionate about agriculture.

In 2023, Coadette won the National Excellence in Teaching Awards Apple Award for her passion in connecting the primary sector with Auckland students. More than 200 students at her school take agriculture each year. 

One of just four New Zealanders to win the award last year, and the first agriculture teacher to win, her work stood out amongst more than 2,500 nominations.

“I feel like the award is for all of us Kiwi ag-teachers because there’s so many of us who do incredible things and I wouldn’t have got the award if it wasn’t for the community and industry support, and the many students I have taught,” she says.

Changing perceptions

Another successful teacher in this space is Hilary Johnson, innovative horticulture manager at Katikati College. She has worked to change student and parent perceptions around primary industry careers. 

She received the 2023 Kudos Trust Science Educator Award, and says she was surprised at the honour. 

“I think I was about one of two people in the room who didn’t have a PhD who was contending for these awards, so the competition was pretty fierce.”

After several decades of working in the corporate environment, Hilary decided to go into teaching, qualifying as a science and business teacher. She started working at Katikati College in 2005.

Hilary Johnson receives 2023 Kudos Trust Science Educator Award.

“For a long time, the school had been talking about the fact we’re in the heartland of horticulture country, with wonderful opportunities to learn all around us.

“And yet, we were not making a good try of teaching horticulture in school, and we weren’t producing graduates who were going on to further training or study in horticulture.”

There were only about 15 students enrolled when the programme first started. 

Hilary’s role was to do something about this, creating a world-class horticulture programme incorporating achievement standards with unit standards so students could work both academically and practically. 

Additional areas of learning woven into the programme include agribusiness, sustainability, electronics, and robotics. 

“We needed to make the subject attractive, relevant, and interesting. And probably one of the biggest obstacles to overcome was parent perception.”

She helped to turn the subject into a self-paced programme, which a third of the senior school now take part in, many emerging as career-ready employees passionate about the industry.

“Students choose what they want to do, and we help them to put it together. So, for example, it might have more to do with genetics and breeding or more to do with business studies and marketing.” 

Hilary says they try to treat each student as an absolute individual, making sure they feel motivated and encouraged no matter their academic strengths or learning styles.

“They have a lot more ownership and interest over what they’re doing and tend to enjoy it more. And what you enjoy, you are more likely to succeed in.”

Year 11 students at work in their garden plots at Katikati College. Image: Sow the Seed.