Agriculture in the Classroom Canada (AITC-C), along with its 10 provincial member organizations, is proud to welcome the Canadian Cattlemen’s Foundation (CCF) as a Foundational and Educational Partner. The collaboration will support the development of agriculture education resources including a teacher guide for Guardians of the Grasslands, a documentary that explores the current state of one of the world’s most endangered ecosystems, the Great Plains grasslands, and the role cattle play in its survival.

Both AITC-C and CCF are committed to youth education and fostering awareness and understanding of Canadian’s agriculture and food system with students. The $50,000 contribution to AITC-C is the first-of-its-kind since the inception of CCF in 2014.

“Supporting Agriculture in the Classroom Canada as a Foundational Partner is a proud milestone for the CCF,” said Bob Lowe, CCF chair. “Strengthening youth connection with the Canadian beef industry and sustainable food production is a key focus for the Foundation. We are excited to partner with AITC-C as our first major grant initiative and would like to thank everyone who has donated to the CCF for making this possible.”

With the support of CCF, AITC-C will be able to create new, curriculum-linked educational resources for classrooms based on accurate, balanced and current information about environmental sustainability and nutrition in relation to the beef industry. In addition to the teachers’ viewing guide for Guardians of the Grasslands – which will be housed in AITC-C’s Canadian Educator’s Matrix – AITC-C will work collaboratively with CCF to support the building and delivery of other educational resources through other initiatives, including the ‘hot topic’ snapAG information sheets and the national career initiative, thinkAG. 

“We are thrilled to initiate this new partnership with the Canadian Cattlemen's Foundation. CCF and AITC-C share a mutual goal of inspiring youth to become informed and empowered consumers and decision makers, as well as active participants and contributors to the agriculture and food sector,” said Johanne Ross, executive director of AITC-C. “We want students to be curious and excited in learning about Canada’s agriculture and food story, and projects like the Guardians of the Grassland education resource guide will assist them in that."

The Guardians of the Grasslands educator and classroom materials will roll out to classrooms across Canada in Fall 2021.