There were smiles all round as it was announced during the week that Jennings Public School student Chloe Deacon-Stock is now a published author.
Chloe’s story ‘What we have on farms’ was a winning entry in the ‘Our Farmers, Our Future’ Enviro-Stories Education Program. Over 180 stories from 17 schools across central and northern rural communities of New South Wales and Queensland participated in the program.
The Enviro-Stories Education Program provided an opportunity for students from Grades 3 to 6 to research, write and illustrate a story about farming. The students worked with their teachers during Term 2 to create stories for other children to read and learn about where our food comes from and how we can farm sustainably.
Chloe’s story was chosen as a winner because it explored the different animals and plants that we grow on farms and what they are farmed for. It was a great example of describing where our food comes from.
“The program has been fantastic, as our kids have learnt about farms, and not a lot of our kids live on farms,” said Tanya Bajda, Principal of Jennings Public School. “The process of writing and editing the stories was a really positive experience.”
Only 16 entries have been chosen for publishing into student readers as well as an e-book for online interaction in the classroom. These winning books will be distributed to schools and libraries across rural New South Wales and Queensland.
This year’s sponsors included the Border Rivers-Gwydir and Central West Catchment Management Authorities, Cotton Catchment Communities CRC, Cotton Research and Development Corporation, Cotton Australia and the Australian Government’s Caring for Our Country program.
PeeK designs consultancy started this program in 2009 and since then, there have been over 45,000 printed books distributed in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. The aim of the program is to help students connect with their local environment through storytelling.
The ‘Our Farmers, Our Future’ Enviro-Stories Education Program is a proud supporter of the Australian Year of the Famer and the National Year of Reading.
For further information on this education program, please go to www.envirostories.com.au.
