Agriculture at Tomaree High

Agriculture at Tomaree High

Agriculture is delivered to students from Years 8 to 12 at Tomaree High School’s Agriculture Farm as well as Primary Industries in Years 11 and 12. The Agriculture Department works closely with industry partners to ensure students are receiving the most up to date information and training in modern technologies in Agriculture such as drones, robotics and GPS, while being able to work with these partners to gain valuable experience. Tomaree High has three fully qualified and experienced Agriculture teachers, all with experience in different areas of Agriculture.

Tomaree Agriculture Department has a wide range of activities relating to a variety of plant and animal enterprises, to appeal to the interests of all students, while giving students an insight as to where their food comes from. Students are also exposed to the problems faced by farmers in the long term supply of our food and food security, whether it be plant or animal based. Tomaree School Farm has a wide range of animals on site, as well as partners that loan animals to ensure the students have the opportunity to learn how to care for their needs, while learning what products they supply including food and fibre. Tomaree have poultry, both egg layers and meat birds and soon to be turkeys, Dorper sheep, alpacas, guinea pigs, yabbies and fish. Tomaree has an extensive aquaculture set up containing silver perch, Murray cod and eel tailed catfish and was developed with the ongoing assistance from Tailor Made Fish Farm and NSW Fisheries at Taylors Beach.

Horticulture is also a large part of the School Farm at Tomaree High with extensive vegetable gardens, a hydroponics set up and a commercial Native tree nursery supplying local sandmining companies such as Sibelco, tube stock for regeneration of previously mined areas throughout Port Stephens. The nursery is industry leading and can supply between 25000 and 30000 tube stock a year. Due to the high success rate of the tube stock, Tomaree native trees are in high demand.

Tomaree High Agriculture Department has strong partnerships with a variety of company’s allowing students to gain valuable insight into employment opportunities and workplace skills. Students in Primary Industries are able to complete work placements with partners such as Salamander Vets, Salamander Florist, Tailor Made Fish Farms, NSW Fisheries, Oakvale Flora and Fauna, Horizons and Pacific Dunes golf courses and Old Farm Nursery just to name a few.

With the drought devastating much of NSW, students studying Agriculture at Tomaree High School have also spent considerable time helping out the farmers and are continuing to do so. In 2018 the students with support of teachers and the Tomaree community managed to fill a 4 horse float with non-perishable goods, water and pet food, which were delivered to Tamworth for “Doing it for the farmers” a not for profit organisation that then distributed the supplies to needy farmers, with over $1000 also raised. Not to stop there, the School Farm also went on the road providing animals and displays for a petting zoo for other fund raisers such as Medowie’s “Bale out the Drought”, where over $85000 was raised and students manned the zoo all day. The contribution by Agriculture students didn’t stop there with many students and their families investing many sleepless nights hand raising day old lambs, kids and calves from drought stricken farms. Orphaned or abandoned stock, many less than 24hrs old were rescued from farms around the Tamworth area and hand raised by students and their families until eventually they were strong enough to return to the farmers

In the second half of 2019 Agriculture students will again be raising funds and collecting food for the farmers for another run to Tamworth, however, this year they are also going to extend this to toys for Christmas presents and hopefully a range of cooking products such as cake mixes and the like, so farmers and their families can bake for Christmas lunch.

In 2019 the Tomaree Agriculture Department will be starting a new initiative, where students will grow a display of herbs or flowers and supply them to local aged care facilities. When the display is either consumed or the flowers have wilted they will be swapped out for a new fresh display.