Students at Menai Primary School take part in an environmental-farming project using computers that link with other schools using Telstra Enhanced Services Keylink that links the schools to the Department of Conservation and Land Management.
It starts with children being told they have inherited a farm near Glenn Innes. The program runs over eight weeks, each fortnight representing a fortnight on the farm. The students have to deal with environmental and management problems that arise.
They upload their results via computer modem over the phone lines to Daniel Low at the department who gives each school regular feedback by downloading comments and results of their actions.
Rural and metropolitan primary and secondary schools in several states are taking part. They use software called Telsim, Environmental Management Matters.
The schools can also link to each other.
The students deal with things like die-back, salinity, Christmas beetle plagues, money management, cost structures and so on.
from throughout Australia are taking part.
Menai teacher Cheryl Walters said, “”The students are treated as adults. There is so much to learn. A lot of them grapple and argue with each other to come up with joint decisions.”