Year 9 Primary Industries

The 350,000 people working in primary industries in New Zealand help feed, shelter, and clothe the world. Primary Industries have always been important to New Zealand, earning over $36 billion a year in export earnings.

Primary industries of importance to New Zealand include:

• Agriculture – Dairy, Meat and Wool
• Horticulture – including viticulture
• Apiculture - Honey and beeswax products
• Forestry
• Seafood – including aquaculture and fishing
• Equine 

This option course is designed to give students an introduction into what is involved in some areas of New Zealand’s Primary Industries. The following are some of the areas we will be looking at:

• Explore what are the primary sectors, primary industries in New Zealand and the story behind how they came to be established and run in New Zealand. Students then pick one industry and research this further, exploring what happens in the industry. 
• Horticulture: We have a school garden and students will get the opportunity to grow their own vegetables from seeds and seedlings, with the end goal of taking home some produce. In this we explore concepts such as parts of a seed and germination, garden tools and uses. 
• Environmental awareness: what happened to New Zealand when Europeans arrived? Why are pests an issue? Our school has forged links with Bream Head Conservation Trust to develop our environmental awareness around pests, which includes a trip out to visit the ranger to explore this in more detail, as well as meeting the beef farm manager and working with an Enviroschools facilitator to identify native plants and collect seeds. We will also look at methods of pest control used, getting a chance to set up tracking tunnels and rat traps within our school. 
• Apiculture (Beekeeping): The School has an apiary and students can try their hand at beekeeing.