A word from the Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator (June 2026)
It was wonderful to support an exciting learning experience for Hay Public School Year 1 students, who recently took part in an excursion to a local cotton farm and the AFF Cotton Gin as part of the Climate Smart Agriculture project.
The students had the opportunity to see firsthand how cotton is grown, harvested and ginned, and how it is transformed into fibre before eventually becoming the clothes we wear every day. From standing in a cotton paddock to watching the ginning process, the excursion brought food and fibre learning to life in a way that simply can’t be replicated in the classroom.
This visit has complemented the students’ ongoing science lessons with Mrs Cannon, where they have been learning about food and fibre systems. Connecting these classroom concepts to real-world farming systems helps build early understanding of agriculture, sustainability and the role farming plays in everyday life.
Supporting opportunities like this is an important part of the Climate Smart Agriculture project, encouraging curiosity, strengthening links between schools and local producers, and helping young people understand where their food and fibre come from. It was fantastic to see the students so engaged, asking thoughtful questions and showing genuine excitement about agriculture.
This event is supported by Riverina Local Land Services and the Australian Government through funding from the Natural Heritage Trust under the Climate-Smart Agriculture Program and delivered for Local Land Services, a member of the Commonwealth Regional Delivery Partners panel.
This article was written by Jade Auldist. Jade is the Sustainable Agriculture Facilitator for the Riverina region. Her role supports farmers, industry and community groups (including Landcare Groups) to adopt new and innovative sustainable agriculture practices.
For further information on this article, please contact Jade at jade.auldist@lls.nsw.gov.au.
