Dirranbandi came alive on Saturday night when almost 3,000 people flocked to the town for the Paul Kelly and Friends concert.
The special charity event aimed specifically at supporting the current and future students of Dirranbandi P-10 State School.
Local farmer Frank Deshon, Nee-Nee, Dirranbandi, was part of the brains-trust behind the idea and he said the event was specifically about getting sustainability into an agricultural program at the school.
“We want to build a platform for our youth to carry on post-graduate studies that revolve around agriculture,” he said.
“The community is pretty passionate about that.
“We want to build our community from the bottom up and so we’re supporting our youth so they can get the skills and the confidence necessary to find employment in agriculture.”
In a town where the population is 700 “on a good day”, Mr Deshon said the goal for the community was to draw young people back to town after completing further education.
“It’s our desire, our aim, our goal down the track, to replace seasonal workers with full time local staff and local kids,” he said.
“If we can get them on a platform and build the opportunity for them to go to ag college and get those skills and the confidence to come back and find employment in the area, I think it’s a win-win for everyone.”
Agriculture science was introduced as a subject at Dirranbandi State School two years ago and principal Andrea Killen said it was exciting to see so many people getting behind their little school.
“We offer agriculture science as an elective from Year 7 to 10 and we have a bit of a taster program for our Year 5 and 6 students,” she said.
“Our kids really love ag studies and it gives them a real purpose in studying science and technology when they can see the links to their local community.
“They have lots of opportunities throughout the year as well to go on-farm and do excursions and actually put what they’re learning in the classroom to good use in a practical sense.”
Despite only 50 students at the school, Mrs Killen said there’s high interest from the students about ag studies.
“There’s 14 students in Year 7 to 10 and 100 per cent of those students have elected to do ag studies,” she said.
