Incursions

Hands-on, practical learning for your class!

Farmwall offers a number of incursions on various aspects of sustainability and agriculture, engaging your students in the future of food. Whether your class is investigating biodiversity, technology or economics, we can deliver a two-hour incursion designed for their abilities and interests. These incursions can be tailored to any year F-10, and their cross-curricular nature means they can be delivered in a variety of classes, from humanities and social sciences to STEM subjects. 

Seed Bombs & Sustainability : Biodiversity incursion

Biodiversity is vital for a healthy planet - for the future of food and life. This incursion helps students explore ecosystems and the importance of biodiversity through hands-on activities, visuals, and discussion.

Guiding questions:

F-Y2: What basic needs does a plant require to grow? How will our seedbombs affect the local environment and our health?
Y3-Y6: What does biodiversity mean? How is mental health, wellness, and nutrition impacted by increased biodiversity?  
Y7-Y10: What happens to one part of an ecosystem when other elements are removed or changed? How can we use maps to illustrate biodiversity in our local community?

Microgreens in Space: AgriSTEM incursion

With a growing population and warming climate, the future of food security is going to require innovative technologies and open a variety of exciting careers to young people entering the workforce. Through the intriguing lens of growing food in space, this incursion introduces students to future agriculture, technology and novel food products. 
The incursion also incorporates a hands-on activity, as students seed their own microgreens - tiny versions of regular vegetables which are being researched for growing in space. Though slightly more low-tech than the extra-terrestrial systems, our microgreen kits will give students the opportunity to grow their own healthy and nutritious food and have first-hand experience with this exciting food product.
This incursion also includes discussion of agriSTEM careers, which is particularly relevant for older students considering their VCE subject selection and tertiary education options. 

Recycling & Reusing: Circular Economy incursion

Achieving environmental sustainability and a just future is going to require a lot of changes to the way our social and economic systems currently run. One increasingly popular concept for pursuing this change is the idea of a 'circular economy' - a way of producing and consuming which reuses, refurbishes and recycles products and materials for as long as possible, rather than automatically disposing of items at the end of their perceived lifespan. The theory and practice of circular economy will be valuable knowledge for students going into a wide variety of fields, and particularly as part of studying business and economics. 
This incursion will introduce the concept of the circular economy, and as a case study demonstrate the ways in which Farmwall and our partner organisation Reground incorporate the theory into our daily business models. We will also discuss other examples, and involve students in pitching their own circular economy projects.

Urban Farming and AgTech Hub Excursion

Come visit us at our exciting urban farming location at the Melbourne Innovation Centre in Alphington, right by the beautiful Darebin Parklands! Two of our experienced Urban Farmers will guide students through our indoor and outdoor urban farming set-ups, utilising a variety of technologies including aquaponics, hydroponics and fog-ponics.
In everything from advanced aquaponic Farmwall systems, to traditional garden beds, we grow a wide variety of crops and would be excited to share with your students the possibilities we see urban growing holding for feeding our cities and planet!  Students will think critically about designing sustainable solutions for the future, and also participate in hands-on growing and harvesting activities. A fresh and healthy lunch is included for all participants!

Further Learning

When you participate in one of our incursions, you can also receive access to Farmwall's online platform and community, Ecosystem. This gives you access to live support 7 days a week, as well as live webinars, industry guest speaker events, personal development and teacher networking events where resource and lesson plan sharing is incentivised. You can share your wins and your losses, feedback and ideas. While Ecosystem is generally key in delivering our year-long program, we are happy to support you in introducing important concepts around sustainability, agriSTEM and biodiversity to your students.

Interested, but not quite ready to book? Register your details and we'll be in touch to discuss how we can deliver the perfect incursion for you and your class!

"The Farmwall facilitators were engaging and their passion for sustainability was inspiring. Students were able to learn about ecosystems in an authentic and hands-on manner. "

- Leanne Williams, teacher at Elsternwick Primary School

"This incursion was extremely interesting, and I learnt a lot about farming. I also enjoyed planting seeds and I'm excited to grow them at home."

- Student at Fountain Gate Secondary College

Who will be delivering your incursion?

Farmwall's team of enthusiastic and knowledgeable Urban Farmers bring a variety of backgrounds and areas of expertise to our programs and projects. Check out our bios below to learn about our interests and experience!

Geert 

Geert is the founder and CEO of Farmwall. After working in the beverage industry for a number of years, Geert decided to dedicate himself to building a world of increased food security and decreased waste. His specialities include entrepreneurship, social enterprise and innovative agricultural technologies. 

Patrick 

Patrick is a therapeutic horticulturalist, and our resident indoor plant obsessive. When he's not taking care of his 200+ plants at home, or coordinating therapeutic horticulture programs for people with disabilities, he's working to share his knowledge of propogation and growing with the Farmwall community.

Elliott 

Elliott is a horticulturalist, student and musician, with a particular passion for soil health. Nutrient-rich and biodiverse soil is vital for a sustainable agricultural system, so Elliott is interested in the possibility of growing methods which sustain the soil, rather than depleting it - feeding people and planet all at once!

Luke

Based in Sydney, Luke is one of our most experienced urban farmers. Having also worked at Sydney's Pocket City Farms, he is deeply passionate and knowledgeable about the possibilities of regenerative urban agriculture for increasing food security, building community and acting on climate change.

Katie

Katie studied environmental education at university and is excited to now be working at Farmwall! They are interested in interactions between humans and the non-human world - how we can live and thrive as a just and peaceful multi-species community, particularly in a time of environmental change and disruption.

Linda

Linda has a background in environmental science, particularly focusing on biodiversity and ecosystems. Alongside her role at Farmwall, she also works delivering excursions to primary and secondary school-aged students at Toolangi State Forest and in other important ecological sites in Victoria. 

Sophia

Sophia comes from a family of dairy farmers, and has a background studying and working in both conventional and urban agriculture. She is passionate about sustainable food systems and provision for all communities through sustainability education and development of functional urban green spaces. 

Join our growing list of participants!

Need more information? Get in touch at hello@farmwall.com.au!

In our biodiversity incursion, students make their own 'seed bombs' - balls of clay, soil and native seeds which are used to seed flowering plants throughout urban landscapes. These support bees and other biodiversity, help to cool urban centres, and are a pleasant and attractive addition to these areas. The interactive map above is used for students to record where they have planted their seed bombs, showing the spread of new greenery as a result of their learning!