Dairy education program enters 10th year

It’s time for other learning areas to mooo-ve over: Dairy Australia’s Picasso Cows program is inspiring primary-aged students to think more about the importance of dairy to their diets and where it comes from.

Now in its 10th year, the popular program allows schools to choose from two curricula: Farm to Plate, which covers the agricultural processes dairy goes through to land on supermarket shelves; and Health and Nutrition, which explores how critical dairy is to a healthy diet and lifestyle.

The program has strong links to the Australian Curriculum and also includes an online learning hub, Discover Dairy. Picasso Cows was developed by teachers and education professionals, including Kimberlin Education, and inspires students to learn through creativity.

“Every school receives their very own life-like cow to paint and decorate, which supports student-centred, interactive learning in addition to an exciting digital educational resource, Discover Dairy, which teachers can use to easily find materials that best fit within the lessons they are planning,” Vanessa Forrest, Dairy Australia’s school communications manager, said.

“The fact that the program has been taken up so enthusiastically by schools for over 10 years is a testament to the benefits of the program and how much both students and teachers get out of it.”

Dairy Australia dietitian Glenys Zucco said the health and nutrition curriculum provides children with key information on dairy’s importance to a healthy diet and lifestyle.

“Scientific evidence supports the health benefits of eating dairy, such as milk, cheese and yogurt, and the Australian Dietary Guidelines indicate dairy lowers the risk of coronary heart disease, stroke, hypertension and type 2 diabetes,” Ms Zucco said.

“It is important children know that milk is a rich source of protein and calcium, essential to growing strong bones and healthy muscles.”

In the Farm to Plate curriculum, students learn about the $13 billion Australian dairy industry and the many stages dairy goes through between the farm gate and the supermarket fridge.

“With many children increasingly growing up in urban areas, they often don’t know where their food comes from and Picasso Cows is a great opportunity to educate the next generation,” Ms Forrest said.

Vanessa Forrest spoke with Education Review about the Picasso Cows program. Expressions of interest for term three can be made here.