Agriculture in the Classroom Update \m. t- llx intcplntu III the curl} 'Hlls. k‘lttsxtimm .t. \1it.tiittitc in the t \I It i non. tlt'\\ tit nun llt‘l\ tmil \llltlt'lllN about um i. llllllls‘ .Illtl- tlu' iinul \)\lt‘llt In Utt- il' t» \ctumt duct-st- llll[lttlt\L‘~ litnc l‘t‘ct'lllt' tinttxetl Ill llll' \| IL' program in nit lt‘.l\lll‘l‘ ,ttnl \nluntct‘h \\ tth \lxlll\ .tntl liilllllthN t _ tit tl hit .igt it lllllIlJl CLlllLtllll‘ll It: lattttttti N35. lh‘.’ l llltul‘tit MIHND l‘lt‘L‘ltIIll has Itlttt‘nsctl LllL‘ ‘it- stunt lt’tlgc it \_-i=tu|ttnt- .ttnl i-umd sponsored J l'w“ ttlJl \ll't‘ think [link “till the .vt, .nwc tit getting ntntc PL'UIJIL‘ and it. mo lll\l‘l\t'tl Ill the pt'tigtum Unc -t "\ 'tlltt'lllc‘\ nl tht' tticctttlg \kLh lhul AM \i :ittttutc- the c'xlnhllslllllc‘nl Ill 4 .-ԤE‘Et:ttlL'L‘ “hth titutttlntc was the dc- (Mimic-m at u Inn; tt-tm \ll'tlt‘ltllt‘ tot he \! I'k‘ tungtxitii Tlll\ Steering L‘nnr i 11;; \I'tt\l\llll:_' til rcpt‘cscntalncs 'mtii t >\lr\'l- the \llnhlt') til Education. l;"‘i‘l.\lllt.'~\ untwt \lllL’S and colleges. Lirtti ttiiittintdtt} groups. and rural or» ,Jf’l‘fltllilll'». reported ti year later on 'i‘lull tctnmtncntlnttons. li' ‘UKU the at 1? Steering Commit, tct tt-tntntncndctl that tntlttttncs be llllelltli‘Cll in the urcax or‘ communi- resource dcxelupment rind .wuiuttttvn prnlcuninttl detelopmctitt argon/animal \ll'UCfUl'C .tnd funding. In April \‘9. an -\[TC linpleiiientutton L'unutnttcc \\‘..l.\ appointed [l' mule these tcctuiitiientluttnnx u rculit} Presently. the} no working towards fulfilling the lttllit\\li'lg recommendations. c.lIl-'|l - l'ht- dcxclnpmcnt of .in Agrt-Food I'dututtun Tl‘uxl. ll‘ e\cntuull_\ assume the titunugctiient und ï¬nancial respon~ sihihtt or lhc‘ AI’I‘C program, ' Dcwloptng a strong communications neiuurt \th till involved ministries. cduwtnrs. voluntccrs. and the ugrtii'ood sc‘c‘lttt through worluhups and training prugtums, ttetssletters. promotional lilJlL‘l'ldl: and dtspldys. and a distinctive prox incth logo and program name. ' The printstun of workshops. con- tcrcnccs and special events to enable teachers and \Olunlcers to increase their knim lodge Ill AITC resources and pro- grams. and to promote the exchange of ltlc'ih and the development of local rC\\Vur[f - Working Wllll faculties of education to prtn‘ldt: teachcritntrainlng workv \hltPs The development of an AITC Summer Institute for Teachers Will also be tntttutetl this year. August 14 to l7. at the University of Guelph. ' Evaluating existing material for tihlectifllv accuracy. relevance to the currtculum. and ease of use. as well as outlining guidelines for the production ol‘ new resources. Currently. the AlTC program staff consists ul'an Education Specialist and .1 seconded Teacher/Consultants (one “ho is bilingual) based in Guelph. Kcmptvtlle. Milton and Ridgetown. In a recent publication ofï¬mhkcepirig the Ontario Federation of Agriculture representative on the Implementation Committee. Carolyn Fuenh, CXpIaincd the MIC program and the need it†public awareness of the agriAt'ood system. She wrote. “Why do studcnts need to be taught about agriculture? Thi- answer is a complex one. At one little most Canadians had relatives llVlnp mi the farm and spent some time thin: especially during summer holidays. to: day farmers are only three per cent of the population and many people thttt'l even know a farmer. let alone have any ï¬rst-hand interaction with a farm. l’tcn in rural areas. non-farm residents nuke up 86 per cent of the community. the result is agricultural illiteracy.“ But through the united efforts or ..u the participants, the AITC program ms begun to address this problem and . um- bat agricultural illiteracy in Out mo schools. Anyone interested in more infoi un- tion about Ontario’s Agriculture in the Classroom program contact a l-tvnil Organization Specialist at the OMAF ofï¬ce in your county or district. l l Resolutions Approved at FWIO Annual Meeting The resolutions passed at the Federâ€" ated Women's Institutes of Ontario annual meeting in November follow the “Women and the Environment" theme, They include: 1. seeking funding for health support persons to assist in improving hospital patient care; I.) . pursuing funding for social service agencies to help abused children and to better educate the public in the symptoms of child abuse; u.- urging the enforcement of legislation to eliminate PCB‘s: 4. pressuring to enforce legislation to prosecute infractions pertaining to PCB‘s: 5. petitioning to legislate a d: \lic reduction in packaging; 6. urging to legislate for the [Bdllflll‘ n of sty rofoarn and plastics used for lttt‘fll and vegetable packaging in Sit in; 7. requesting the establishment of guidelines for waste disposal .itun from landfill sites, and the flilfitt ling legislation to make an efï¬cient and uniform recycling program muniti- tory in each province in Camila; 8. persuading the legislature to pm a bill to provide for the legal en l-ttce- ment of a Living Will: and 9. requesting that education in tht :trts not be taxed. N h H St C December. January. February 1990