Providing students at Belltrees Public School with real-world learning opportunities is key to our approach to developing innovative, future citizens. As part of this focus, in late 2021 the school was successful in being awarded the Nutrien Ag - Community Programs grant. This grant was sourced to assist the school in organising our 2022 Regenerative Agriculture Immersion Excursion to Armidale. Thank you again to Nutrien Ag - Scone for assisting us in this initiative.
Our first day began at Taylors Run Farm, Kentucky. We were being hosted by Michael Taylor, who was announced as the NSW Farmer of the Year in 2022. This place is a treasure trove of knowledge about agriculture and agriforestry. So great to hear the role trees play in his management of his property. Then we were off The Overseer Saddlery in Armidale. If you haven’t visited their store and talked to Jason and Naomi, it’s a must do. These guys store has some incredible leather goods and their property is a must see if you’re exploring Regen Ag.
The next day, the regen learning journey continued with some fascinating visits to two wonderful properties. First off the rank, was Southern Blue Regenerative. Glen delved deep into hands-on activities, demonstrating experiments to better understand the land. This gave the kids, and adults, a great understanding of ways to better manage properties. Then we were off to Wilmot Cattle Co. Being able to see regenerative agriculture on a scale this large was extremely intriguing. This was along with watching the process of cattle pregnancy testing which totally enthralled the children, who had many questions about the process. The real sweetener on top of the day's activities was our visit to Hernani Public School. The school, the same size as us, put on a beautiful display of hospitality as they toured us around their picturesque little school.
The final day today was a bit of a shift in gears. Our farm host today was Bill Perrottet, a master in low-stress stock handling and a highly experienced land manager. He explained his journey so far, successes, failures and wishes for the future. And let the kids play with Meg the pup. This brought an end to our Regen Learning excursion. From here it was shopping and lunch at Uralla - did someone say Lolly Shop! The last pit stop was a visit to Mrs Teague’s school - Wallabadah Public School. The kids spent time with the students of this lovely school, playing basketball and dancing.
Now, we are excited to get back into our own paddock at school and begin implementing some features we have learnt. Huge thanks to Nutrien Ag Solutions - Scone for your support in making this opportunity available to our staff, students and community members.
