n THE CARILLON STEINBACH, MAN. C6
n www.thecarillon.com THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2024
Career opportunities focus of Amazing Ag Adventure WES KEATING THE CARILLON Katharine Cherewyk, Executive Director of AITC-M and Carson Callum, General Manager of Manitoba Beef Producers and AITC-M Board Member, with Clover the life-sized beef calving model at this year’s Amazing Agriculture Adventure.
by WES KEATING D ozens of high school stu- dents, at Agriculture in the Classroom’s Amazing Agri- culture Adventure for the first time, learned that whatever their career choice for the future, they are likely to find it in some way connected to agriculture. This year’s Amazing Agriculture Adventure again featured 10 inter- active stations, giving elementary students a close-up view of differ- ent phases of agriculture from hon- ey bees to beef, but added to the event for the first time, was a high school component. High school students also toured the five stations at the Bruce D. Campbell Farm and Food Discov- ery Centre and then moved on to the Manitoba Dairy Farmers dairy barn and outdoor stations, includ- ing one featuring beef. For the older students, volunteer presenters con- centrated on the various agriculture careers involved, as well as provid- ing details about raising livestock, protecting the environment and caring for animals. The veterinary, dairy, beef and watershed stations helped students gain an understanding of how ani- mals are cared for, how agriculture plays a role in their daily life, and how they could one day be part of an exciting career in agriculture. At the watershed display, Ed- ward Shao used a water spray bot- tle shaped like a cloud to “rain” on a model depicting the different kinds of pollution which could be produced in different settings. Shao explained how runoff would take pollution to various waterways and challenged older students to sug- gest ways the damage to the envi- ronment could be mediated. As part of his presentation, us- ing the model, Shao showed high school students a number of exam- ples of the kind of environment-re- lated career options that were avail- able, be it in a factory, farm or rural community setting. Sharing his own career path, Shao told students that after graduating with a degree in Environmental Studies he had tried the Winnipeg job market and found the same
WES KEATING THE CARILLON Edward Shao, manager of the Swan Lake Watershed District, uses a display and spray bottle to demonstrate how runoff carries pollution into waterways from farms, factories, roadways and communities, both urban and rural.
side. Pederson is the extension coordi- nator for youth programming at the Manitoba Beef and Forages Initia- tives near Brandon.
body.” Over at the beef station across from the dairy research barn, Josie Pederson demonstrates how to as- sist a cow during a difficult birth, using Clover, a life-sized calving model of a beef cow with a calf in-
Watershed District and was hired. In a small community, getting a job is sometimes easier than tackling the job market in a big city. “It’s not always what you know, but who you know. In a rural com- munity, everybody knows every-
obstacle at every turn. Employers wanted somebody with a degree and experience. Having just gradu- ated, he had the qualifications but not the experience. Returning home to Swan Lake, he applied for a job with the Swan Lake
See ‘Students shown various roles in agriculture’ on 7C
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