April 2013 newsletter

PIEF has released its April 2013 newsletter ... read more.

2013 PIEF Workshop, 'Inform, Inquire, Inspire'

The 2013 PIEF Workshop 'Inform, Inquire, Inspire' will be held at The Rex Hotel, Canberra on 5 and 6 June. The workshop will be combination of keynote presenters, facilitated interactive sessions, workshop presentations from organisations and individuals as well as a 'lightning' presentation session.

The event is expected to draw over 150 delegates from around Australia consisting of leaders from the education, primary industry and government sectors.

The workshops themes of 'Inform, Inquire, Inspire' seek to draw together the collected experiences of attendees to inform future PIEF activities, showcase existing programs and initiatives in food and fibre education and identify areas for collective action.

The conference program is now available ... click here to view program.

Registration from May until the conference is $160. Online registration is open and places are limited ... click here to register.

PIEF seeks project officers

PIEF is seeking to engage suitable persons for casual, part-time and full-time project officer positions as the need arises to assist the CEO in strategic, priority projects ... read more.

Working together to tackle education and labour shortages

Key players in the Australian agricultural and education sectors have come together to address critical issues around education, training, skills and labour in a bid to encourage more students to take up agricultural careers. The National Agribusiness Education, Skills and Labour Taskforce, facilitated by the National Farmers' Federation (NFF), has resolved ... read more.

Primary Industries Partnerships in Schools

The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) in partnership with the Primary Industries Education Foundation (PIEF) are pleased to announce the Primary Industries Partnerships in Schools (PIPS) project.

This project will identify successful primary industry themed partnerships between schools and agribusiness that support student learning across all areas of the curriculum with a food and fibre context.

You can read about the schools attending the two day forum in Canberra in September and details of their partnerships ... details. You can also read the media release about the forum by the Minister for Agriculture, Senator the Hon. Joe Ludwig ... media release.

Worrying levels of knowledge about agriculture in schools

A survey released by PIEF shows that student and teacher knowledge of food and fibre production has declined to worrying levels. It reveals that 75 per cent of students thought cotton socks were an animal product and 45 per cent could not identify that everyday lunchbox items such as a banana, bread and cheese originated from farms. The survey is a wake-up call to government says PIEF's Chair, Dr Cameron Archer.

... read media release, read survey. The survey was undertaken for PIEF by the Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) ... read ACER newsletter re the survey.

PIEF acknowledges DAFF, Woolworths and PIEF members Meat and Livestock Australia, Forest and Wood Products Australia, Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, Australian Egg Corporation Limited and Cotton Australia as supporters of the survey.

Phase One of 'primezone'

Our website 'www.primezone.edu.au' is becoming a one-stop web portal of primary industries resources for schools and the community. The site is expanding and will be searchable by the Australian Curriculum when finalised. We welcome feedback and information about resources that teachers are using and recommend to others. We are keen to promote news and events related to primary industries education via our website.