STEM and Agriculture Program for Indeigenous Youth in Southern Saskatchewan
2024 Truth and Reconciliation Fund Grant Recipient— $5,000
- Enhance Educational Access: Ensure Indigenous students have equitable opportunities in STEM & agriculture education.
- Culturally Relevant Learning: Integrate Indigenous traditional knowledge with modern agricultural practices.
- Skill Development: Provide opportunities to prepare Indigenous youth for careers in agriculture and STEM fields.
- Community Engagement: Partner with Elders, educators, and leaders to ensure culturally appropriate program delivery.
- Bridge Educational Gaps: Address systemic barriers to create equity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students.
We experienced a delayed start due to challenges in finding a project manager & communication with First Nations. Despite this, progress was made, piloting some activities & developing a clear plan for the current year. The program will continue to be in a pilot phase in 2025, we aim to gradually build school engagement & capacity. We are committed to building relationships respectfully & with the direction of each Nation. Additionally, we are developing a Metis section on our kids website working with leaders, Elders, & content creators, to develop cultural content. The goal is to create a sustainable & culturally relevant initiative that benefits Indigenous youth, & we recognize that this will require time, flexibility, & collaboration.
We experienced a delayed start due to challenges in finding a project manager & communication with First Nations. Despite this, progress was made, piloting some activities & developing a clear plan for the current year. The program will continue to be in a pilot phase in 2025, we aim to gradually build school engagement & capacity. We are committed to building relationships respectfully & with the direction of each Nation. Additionally, we are developing a Metis section on our kids website working with leaders, Elders, & content creators, to develop cultural content. The goal is to create a sustainable & culturally relevant initiative that benefits Indigenous youth, & we recognize that this will require time, flexibility, & collaboration.
After a teacher session at one of the First Nations schools nearly all teachers created a user account in our database and have accessed our programs and resources. One teacher in particular has embraced AITC’s offerings and is committed to bringing their students to as many AITC programs as possible and developing a larger scale gardening program in their school. Thus far, they have attended programming at Agribition and registration for Career Expo’s in this current year and we are in discussion to provide gardening equipment and supplies so their students can utilize garden-based learning in their school. This is helping to build the bridge between traditional knowing, agriculture, STEM, and career opportunities.