AITC News

On Sunday November 21st, AITC-C leader Johanne Ross was officially inducted into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame. Our organization was extremely honoured to be able to celebrate Johanne and all of her various accomplishments over the years with her family and friends.  

After graduating from University of Manitoba with a degree in Agriculture and spending several years in the agri-food sector, Johanne joined Agriculture in the Classroom Manitoba as Executive Director in 2000. She grew AITC-M from a “one-women show” to a thriving organization. In 2015, she shifted to a national focus leading the development of AITC Canada as a cross-country effort to bring ag education into every classroom, inspiring every student. 

Johanne is a proud community booster where she and her family live on their farm near Minnedosa, Manitoba. She has served on countless boards and committees, and is a driving force who has inspired hundreds of partnerships and collaborations for AITC and beyond. 

All of this, combined with her genuine passion and enthusiasm for sharing Canada’s agriculture and food story, have made her a champion for agriculture education for more than 20 years. This induction into the CAHF celebrates the lasting legacy of not only her leadership, but the importance of agriculture education to all Canadians. 

AITC-C is ecstatic to announce we were awarded three Best of CAMA awards at the recent virtual event. 

The thinkAG website won the Website directed at the General Public category. The thinkAG website’s goal is to engage and inspire youth and beyond to consider a career in agriculture – no matter their interests or skills. In addition to our category, the thinkAG website won for Best in Show for all public facing communications. 

We’d like to thank Lesia Design and Digital for assisting our team in the creation of this website. 

Our 2020-2021 Annual Progress Report won in the Specialty Publications category. Our Annual Progress Report has gained more than 1400 page views, and outlines our collective national impact across our 10 provincial organizations. We are extremely proud of not only the report but the impact it reflects. 

We’d like to thank Arcana Creative for the creation of the stunning illustrations, and Kim Sabourin for her work and expertise. 

Canadian Agri-food Marketers Alliance (CAMA) is a national alliance connecting Canada’s agri-food marketers and communicators. The Best of CAMA is our industry’s annual showcase of creativity, marketing, and communications expertise.  

 Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C), along with its 10 provincial members, is inspiring students to explore careers in agriculture and food this November for Canada Career Month, a national campaign initiated by the Canadian Career Development Foundation (CCDF). By putting agri-food careers into the spotlight through its thinkAG initiative, AITC-C hopes to get Canadian teens curious about the diversity of careers available in the sector and help close the labour shortage gap. 

To celebrate Career Month, AITC-C is releasing their new Career Case game, fully launching the interactive thinkAG website, and providing some sneak peeks at the upcoming Kareero app that will be available for download this spring. AITC-C is also spearheading a 30-Day thinkAG Challenge to classrooms and parents to empower students to learn that their diverse skillset, interests, and unique background is not only needed in the agriculture and food industry, but will help to provide them with a fulfilling career that can positively impact our country and world.  

“AITC-C and its thinkAG initiative is excited to be joining Canada Career Month for the first time ever! We want students to realize there is a place for them in the agriculture and food sector, and that they can find a meaningful career in the industry, whether or not they grew up in a farming environment,” said Shayla Hertz, AITC-C’s thinkAG manager. “Career Month is the perfect time to get these conversations happening in the classroom, around the dinner table, and on social media.” 

Beginning over 20 years ago, Career Month has been run by a collaborative group of career development professionals, educators, and organizations, and is celebrating 2021 with the inspiring theme, “it’s possible”.  Career Month runs from November 1st through November 30th. Follow along with #CareerMonth and #ItsPossible to learn how we can get Canadian students to thinkAG.

Read the full release here.

Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C), along with its 10 provincial members, is excited to launch a teaching guide with interactive resources for Guardians of the Grasslands, a documentary that explores the role that cattle play in the survival of Canada’s vanishing grasslands ecosystem.

Through a funding partnership with the Canadian Cattlemen’s Foundation (CCF), Guardians of the Grasslands in the Classroom complements the 12-minute documentary through viewing and reflection questions, an online scavenger hunt, and a student-developed board game based on their investigative research. It also connects to further readings exploring the key topics of biodiversity, soil health, climate change, and land management.

“Guardians of the Grasslands in the Classroom is a curriculum-linked, purpose-driven opportunity for teachers and students to learn about and reflect on the endangered grasslands ecosystem in a way that fosters critical thinking and creativity,” said Melissa Galay, Education Specialist with AITC-C.

Most Canadians – let alone students – are not aware of the important role that cattle play in preserving and maintaining what remains of our country’s grasslands. Through the documentary and fun, interactive learning resources, students will learn how ranchers, conservationists, and others are working together towards protecting what is left the grasslands.

"By developing Guardians of the Grasslands in the Classroom as an educational resource, students across Canada will have the opportunity to learn about cattle's important role in preserving grassland ecosystems. We are proud to partner with Agriculture in the Classroom Canada to further showcase our industry's positive environmental story to youth across the country," said Bob Lowe, Chair of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Foundation.

Guardians of the Grasslands in the Classroom is targeted at Grades 7 to 11 students, and is available for free download on AITC-C’s Curriculum Connected Resource Matrix, found here.

The Guardians of the Grasslands documentary is available for public viewing here.

AITC-C is excited to release its newest curriculum-linked teaching tool, connectAG.

The interactive, online resource aims to support students’ understanding of where and how our food is produced, while also examining the challenges and opportunities producers face. The resource examines farms from all Canadian provinces and enables students to learn about agricultural commodities from many farmers, allowing them to make links to our food system.

“We are looking forward to teachers and students diving into this e-learning resource and exploring what agriculture looks like across the country,” said Melissa Galay, AITC-C’s Education Specialist. “Agriculture and food production is so unique in each province, and this resource tells part of that diverse food story through interactive elements.”

The free, bilingual resource is geared at Grades 7 to 9 and is available for Canadian teachers to bring into their classrooms, as well as for parents and students for at-home learning. The French version will be available later this week. 

connectAG is accessible on our Curriculum Connected Resource Matrix, found here.

AITC-C is joining together with Will Power to empower Canadians to view their Will as more than just a legal document, but a powerful tool to support charities and grow your legacy. 

Teaming up with fellow charities, financial advisors and legal professionals across the country, we are excited to show how supporting organizations like AITC in your Will can be an impactful way to become a champion for agriculture education. 

A Legacy Gift is a powerful way to share your commitment to agriculture education in Canada as it will provide student interactions that inspire a lifelong connection and understanding of food and where it comes from. Investing in agriculture education today will help empower consumers and inspire leaders of tomorrow!

Through this national movement, Will Power is educating Canadians on the power they have to make a difference through their Wills and is sharing information on common myths surrounding gifts in Wills and the potential tax benefits for legacy giving. 

“Many donors believe that they can’t support both their loved ones and their favourite cause with their Will. The truth is, just a small percentage of your estate left to charity can have a big impact, while still leaving the majority for loved ones.” 

If you are interested in learning how you can ‘Grow Your Legacy with AITC-C’, please visit willpower.ca/charities/aitccanada/.

Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C), along with its 10 provincial members, is thrilled to announce that the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame has chosen its Executive Director, Johanne Ross, as a 2021 inductee.

Johanne has been a champion for agriculture education for more than 20 years – first as the Executive Director of AITC in Manitoba, and then by leading the development of the national organization which formalized in 2015. Johanne has tirelessly dedicated her career to advocating for agriculture education to be present in all classrooms, bridging the information gap and creating meaningful connections to agriculture and food for Canadian students and educators.

"The Board of Directors and provincial colleagues congratulate Johanne! She leads AITC Canada with enthusiasm and passion, encourages collaboration, and maintains connections with farmers and people experienced in agriculture," said Pat Tonn, Chair. "She has built a lasting legacy for agriculture education in Canada and is most deserving of induction to the Canadian Agriculture Hall of Fame."

Read the full announcement here.

Read CAHF announcement here.

Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C), along with its 10 provincial members, has connected two million students to agriculture education experiences with Canada’s agriculture and food story, as reported in AITC-C’s 2020-2021 Annual Progress Report. With the COVID-19 shift, AITC-C continued to deliver programming virtually – allowing for a wider reach to more remote communities and schools. 

Through the strong presence of AITC-C's 10 provincial members from across Canada and its online Curriculum Connected Resource Matrix, AITC-C strives to address the knowledge gap that exists around our food system. Collectively, we provided accurate, balanced, and current agriculture information and resources to Canadian classrooms. 

"We are thrilled that so many curious students are participating in AITC-C's innovative learning opportunities,” said Johanne Ross, Executive Director of AITC-C. “Our reach continues to grow as we adapt to the changing tides in educational delivery and focus on creating student experiences and meaningful connections to agriculture and food.” 

View more information on AITC-C's 2020-2021 Annual Progress Report website: aitc-celebrates.ca.

The G3 Grow Beyond Scholarship is being awarded again this year to 6 remarkable young people.

The winners were chosen after a weeks-long selection process from a field of more than 50 candidates who applied and told us in a video presentation how they would drive innovation in agriculture. Each winner will receive $4,000 as they embark on their post-secondary education; each of their high schools will also be rewarded $1,000. The scholarship is presented in partnership with Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C).

We are proud to announce the 2021 G3 Grow Beyond Scholarship winners:

• Ebunoluwa Makinde (MB)
• Jessica Davey (SK)
• Kacey Code (SK)
• Rachel Zhu (ON)
• Stefan Schaible Schur (MB)
• Zoee Aussant (SK)

All the candidates’ videos were posted online, and public voting formed part of the overall score in the selection process. The public response again this year was incredible. The g3growbeyond.org website saw more than 63,000 unique visits. Videos were played more than 17,000 times and more than 16,000 votes cast.

Read the media release here.

Agriculture in the Classroom Canada is excited to add 12 new snapAG information sheets to its Learn About Agriculture webpage and Curriculum Connected Resource Matrix. These new, infographic resources cover ‘hot topics’ in the agriculture and food sector, including regenerative agriculture, robotics, food security, urban agriculture, and more!

The addition of these 12 snapAG sheets brings the total number of sheets to 73 information sheets, providing accurate, balanced, and current science-​based answers to various questions about agriculture and food - ready for teachers, students, and learning from home.

The new 12 snapAG sheets will be housed on our newly redesigned snapAG portal, available here. AITC-C also plans to release three sheets focusing on Indigenous Agriculture in the next few months.

Explore our snapAG sheets.