04 June 2025 Student-led project opens the farm gate for urban tamariki

The inaugural Paddock Pioneers event was run by Lincoln’s Future Leader Scholars, designed to bridge the knowledge gap and expose urban kids to farming and the wider agricultural industry, many for the first time. 

Held at Lincoln University’s Ashley Dene Research and Development Station, the event gave students hands-on experiences with where their food comes from and who makes it happen.

“I wanted to give them an opportunity I didn’t have at that age,” said project co-lead Anna Stuart. 

“Hopefully we’ve sparked an interest in the sector and inspired them to consider a future career in agriculture.” 

The enthusiastic tamariki from Linwood Avenue School rotated through five interactive stations.

A sheep shearing presentation and wool fadge races taught them about the wool industry and its products. They got up close with different types of animal feed, learning that livestock don’t just eat grass, and how that links to milk production. This led into a tour of the milking shed, where they followed the process from cow to consumption. And of course, there was a gumboot throw.

“It’s one thing to talk about the primary sector, it’s economic benefits and career options,” co-lead Troy Volman said, “but nothing beats getting your hands dirty and stuck into a range of fun activities and tours on a farm.”

The day was a hit, with almost everyone’s hands shooting up at the end of the day when asked if they were now interested in working in agriculture.

The event was run in partnership with Te Mātāpuna Mātātahi Children’s University, which supplied support and the kids for the day, who are part of their programme. 

Children’s University Learning Coordinator Toby Johnson said it was an “absolutely brilliant” addition to the children's calendar. 

“Coming from an urban environment, this was a great introduction to career pathways and interests that they may never have otherwise considered, which is the essence of our programme.”

Future Leader programme manager Ilse von Hirschberg was proud the students had led such a safe and exciting trip.

“I think the biggest gift we can give to these children is to share farm life with them, and Lincoln University is uniquely positioned to give this gift to them. 

“The Future Leaders made it happen and proved it can be done on a working farm.” 

Now that the groundwork has been laid, the aim is for Paddock Pioneers to be picked up by next year’s Future Leader cohort or taken on and adapted by Children’s University. 

The project was carried out by seven students as part of their Future Leader Scholarship programme. Anna Stuart and Troy Volman were project leads, alongside Crystal Jewell, Tom Matteucci, Fraser Wilson, Dougal Radford and Lewis Turner.

The team thanks event sponsors PGG Wrightson for supplying wool fadges and wool product samples, and Skellerup for generously donating gumboot vouchers to use as prizes for the kids. 

A big thank you to Linwood Avenue School for your excited and engaged students.