School students from across Queensland have been presented with a range of awards in this year’s Hermitage Schools Plant Science Competition, which celebrates native foods.
Run by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, the competition attracted more than 3,600 Prep to Year 12 students from 137 schools.
Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries, Mark Furner said the science and art entries in this year’s competition were exceptional and gave great hope for the future of science and agriculture.
“These aspiring young scientists have learned about plant science, food technology and native foods, and how this applies to developing nutritious and delicious fresh produce,” Mr Furner said.
“Students also created native food plant herbariums, carried out a marketing activity, cooked with bush tucker and researched the science behind using native plants for food production across the world.”
He said they also used a mobile gaming app to spot and identify pests that impacted native plant life and interfered with agricultural production.
The competition’s Art in Agriculture section linked to the Hermitage Research Facility’s 125th anniversary theme, Agriculture Through the Ages.
It saw students create a mosaic depicting a native food or food system that had sustained First Nations people for thousands of years, or one that could enrich today’s diets.
The Major Science Award prize winners can be accessed at this PS News link.
