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Farming – English

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Exploring ideas

Good advice

In this task, students map what they know about the relationship of biodiversity and farming.

A farming family needs advice about wildlife and wildlife habitat. They want to know if keeping a small remnant forest and growing more trees and shrubs will improve their farm or reduce profits and the value of their land. Put yourself in the place of the following people to advise the farming family:

• the family accountant advising on profit and loss


• a local park ranger – on the benefits of wildlife


• a pest controller – on feral animals, weeds and invertebrates that destroy crops


• a local real-estate agent – on land values


• a tourist operator who organises farm holidays.

Brainstorm ideas as a class. Link ideas using bubble maps or other thinking tools. Develop a set of questions to be answered and sources where the answers may be found. Record these.

Resources

Upfront issues

This task will enable students to analyse the issues, including environmental ones, that concern rural populations.

Students need access to the range of media most commonly used by rural communities.

• Examine these media and identify the issues that concern rural people.


• Categorise the issues. With each one, decide if it is environmental, social or economic, or a combination of all three.


• Produce a datasheet and set of data about the findings.


• Evaluate which media sources are the most helpful to rural people.


• Present your findings diagrammatically, showing how the issues impact on a typical rural family.

Resources

What will we do?

In this task, students will enact a formal meeting about operating an eco-farm.

A group of eight students will have a formal meeting to decide how to operate their eco-farm. They need access to Eco farm supplied on CD-ROM. After they have completed the simulation at least once, they may need to do further research.

Develop an agenda and meeting rules before the meeting:

• What items for discussion will be part of the agenda?


• What aspects of the environment?


• What aspects of farming?


• What aspects of income and expenses?


• What aspects of the farmers’ wellbeing?


• Is there a need to decide in what order, and over what time, farm improvements will occur?


• Is there a need to monitor how successful their projects are?


• In what order should the items be discussed? Why does this matter?


• How will decisions be made and recorded?

Conduct the meeting. Conclude the activity by running the Eco farm interactive using the decisions of the meeting.

Resources

Bio what?

This task will enable students to explain the concept of biodiversity that addresses the interests of a given audience.

Produce a presentation to explain how biodiversity relates to farmers. The concept of biodiversity is very complicated to communicate.

• Complete research to become familiar with the concept.


• Have a robust class discussion to thrash out ideas about the presentation, including dealing with any anticipated frustration farmers may have about biodiversity.


• What kind of media do farmers use? Choose a relevant medium for a presentation.


• Develop a presentation and include relevant images to support the information.

Resources