As the global population and demand for food continues to grow and sustainability of our ecosystems and lifestyles remain the hottest of topics, our agriculture and horticulture industries must continue to evolve and innovate.
Understanding our soils and how to maximise them for production without depleting them as a resource, is critical to the future of these industries. In this program students will develop and apply that understanding in a hands-on way.
They will select and sample a test site related to a class investigation or project, process the soil and prepare it for analysis. Using a range of techniques, they will assess the health of the soil and identify any necessary corrective actions that will improve productivity and optimise growing conditions.
Students will get a future opportunity to re-test their soil and check to see if the corrective actions they implemented had the intended effect.
Requisite Learning:
Our experience shows that this program is most effective when the students have a specific soil improvement project and physical space to test and improve.
BTS Staff will support you through the following steps to ensure that the program runs successfully:
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Once a project / improvement site is identified, a BTS staff member will book a time a minimum of 4 weeks prior to the onsite Tech School day to come out with the necessary equipment and assist your class to collect their soil samples.
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Two weeks prior to the onsite Tech School day, BTS will arrange with you to transport the samples to the Tech School.
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Complete the testing day at the Tech School.
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A BTS staff member can return to your class and assist with post program testing for improvement actions at your project site.
This program can also be delivered entirely as a Tech School at Your School option where we provide all the equipment and support to your students in their classroom.
