Aggie Days returned to the Lethbridge Trade and Convention Centre Wednesday.
Lethbridge and District Agricultural Society Director Cody McIntosh said the successful event was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic. “We’re very excited to bring it back to the city.”
One of the mandates of the society, McIntosh added, is youth education.
“Connecting with kids, so they can understand what’s happening all around them. Lethbridge is an urban centre in a rural area, and there’s agriculture happening in every direction. But many may not know what it is. This is an opportunity to bring in agricultural producers, commodity groups, and get those kids in classrooms excited about agriculture,” McIntosh explained. “We’re trying to bring as many interactive, fun and exciting displays as we can in for the kids to get them excited and really know where their food comes from.”
The goal was to get between 800 to 1,000 kids registered for the two-day event. “We did exceed our goal. We’re just over a thousand, but we had a few groups on the waiting list, so really excited to meet that goal,” noted McIntosh.
According to McIntosh, the idea of the event is to engage urban students from Grades Four to Six with agricultural activities.
“When they’re driving down the road and they can see a crop, they know what it is, what it’s used for, and that it’s actually processed in southern Alberta,” McIntosh explained.
McIntosh said Aggie Days fits well with a lot of Ag in the Classroom programs, and some of the curriculum these kids are working through in school. “It lines up really nicely with the curriculum.”
CEO of Agriculture for Life Luree Williamson said an interactive event where students come together to learn and experience as a large group is a great dynamic.
“They’re out of the classroom, so they get to experience agriculture on their way to the venue, and they get the opportunity to be exposed to a lot of different topics at one event,” Williamson noted. “A lot of times when we go into the classroom, we might have them for an hour or so, but this way we get to have the students for four hours and they get to learn multiple topics throughout the day.”
Williamson added there has always been a gap between learning where your food comes from and understanding agriculture. “We know from statistics most students and teachers are two to three generations removed from the farm. So, really having that opportunity to connect them back to where their food comes from, whether you live in rural environments or urban environments, we’re all connected to agriculture.”
Today’s agriculture is so tech-driven, Williamson shared. “So innovative, so science-based, and students have the opportunity to engage in agriculture learning.”
Williamson said there’s so many careers available to students within the industry, and Aggie Days provides them with an opportunity to explore where their place can be in the future of agriculture.
“I know in the future, we’re looking at adding and having more students participate. Perhaps, a public opportunity. This year, it’s a closed experience for students,” Williamson added.
Aggie Days runs until Thursday.
For more information, visit online at agricultureforlife.ca/aggiedays.
