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Ontario ag groups collaborate for educational dry bean guide

The Ontario Bean Growers (OBG) and AgScape have collaborated on a new Teachers’ Guide exploring dry bean farming, designed for Ontario students in Grades 4 to 10.

This new resource for Ontario educators invites students to explore – in three engaging, hands-on lessons – the nutritional benefits of beans, potential career opportunities, and the innovations and technology utilized by Ontario bean farms. It was particularly important to both AgScape and OBG that the Teachers’ Guide address the role bean farmers play as stewards of the environment. This resource also provides educators with an overview of the dry, bean industry, answering key questions around what farming Ontario beans looks like.

Jennifer Mitchell, OBG project manager, said, “Looking at it from an industry perspective, it is important for us to highlight the many opportunities available in the agri-food sector.  Imagine if, unbeknownst to us, a future bean breeder or weed scientist, or plant pathologist, is among the students exposed to our resources, and that exposure is what lights the spark for them to take that path.”

An Exploration of Dry Bean Farming, Teachers’ Guide for Grades 4 to 10, is the featured resource being offered this March in celebration of Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month. Educators interested in receiving this resource can register for AgScape’s Teacher Resource Packages.