The desire to immerse oneself in the art of cotton growing seemingly runs in the water around Theodore and the town’s state school is no exception.
Theodore State School is encouraging students from grades seven to ten to consider a future in agriculture with the introduction of a quarter-acre cotton plot as part of the school’s choice curriculum program.
Theodore State School head of secondary, Carlie Atkins, was instrumental in giving the program momentum and said students were benefiting beyond the classroom.
“We don’t have manual arts or agricultural science classes at school so it’s about teaching the kids the benefits of being on the land and being involved with agriculture,” she said.
“We want them to learn what’s available in our community so they do come back to agriculture after school rather than going away or to work in the mine, because there is so much on offer here in the way of employment.”
Cotton was the obvious choice due to its prominence in the area and Cotton Australia Dawson and Callide Valley regional manager, Bronwyn Christensen, said the company had done extensive work with the school.
“Cotton Australia funded four teachers from Theodore to travel to Melbourne for a field to fabric course to learn about the industry,” she said.
“It’s also great because it gives the school greater involvement with the wider community- since this began I’ve had numerous people congratulate us for encouraging agriculture.”
The initiative has certainly paid off for the cotton industry with various students now considering a future in the field.
Theodore State School students Keeley Monaghan and Sterling Edwards said they were surprised by the extensive work involved with growing cotton.
"It’s not just planting a seed and watching it grow, there’s a lot more to it,” Miss Monaghan said.
Dawson Ag Consulting agronomist Damien Erbacher said it was rewarding to see students’ eyes opened to the possibilities within agriculture.
“In the past agriculture was not the most popular option beyond the school gate but whether it’s as farmers, employees or researchers, we need people coming through,” he said.
“Agriculture is facing an exciting time at the moment and there are great opportunities for young people.”
With the availability of a miniature cotton gin giving students the chance to pick and gin their own cotton and keep a sample of lint and seed, students are keen to get their hands dirty in coming weeks to reap the rewards of their labour.
