In this issue of our BCAITC Teacher Champion series, we profile BC teacher Kaitlyn McKay. Discover her passion for educating students about BC agriculture, food, and the environment.

What school do you teach? A: I currently teach at OKM Secondary School.

What grade(s) do you teach? A: I currently teach grades 9-12.

How and when did you first learn about BCAITC? A: I learned about BC Agriculture In The Classroom Foundation (BCAITC) through a workshop during one of our Professional Development Days. The experience resonated with me, prompting my return for another BCAITC workshop last year.

How long have you been teaching students about BC agriculture and food? A: I have been incorporating agriculture and food education in my classroom for a while now. When I was teaching at Glenrosa Middle School, I used BCAITC resources to teach a unit on sustainability and supporting local to my Grade 7 students, I utilized it again when I taught at Canyon Falls Middle School for a similar lesson plan that was collaborated with the Art and Foods teachers.

What are the most important things that you want your students to learn about BC agriculture and food? A: I think it is really important for students to understand where the food comes from and the effort it takes to get to their table and kitchen. Students are always really interested in the way food is grown and how it ends up at their table.

BCAITC has over 500 free downloadable resources including lesson plans, activities, videos, recipes, and more! What is your favourite BCAITC resource and why? A: I have used a lot of the free printable educational resources, but my favourite is the spotlight series. While using Spotlight Series I allow students to choose their own adventure on which produce they would like to learn about. I have also used posters provided by BCAITC in our classrooms and some of the online simulation games and maps so students could see where and how the food is produced. I really loved the spotlight series because of the versatility in how I am able to teach with those resources and incorporate them with other resources.

What is your favourite BCAITC program and why? A: My favourite program is the Spuds in Tubs program. I love how hands-on it is for the students.

Describe an agriculture or food-based project/program you have implemented in your classroom/school recently. A: While I was teaching at Canyon Falls Middle, I incorporated various resources to teach students more about sustainability, food waste, and supporting locally grown food in our community. I used these resources to teach more cross-curricular material with our food teacher to students.

Do you have any advice for other educators on how to integrate agriculture and food education into their curriculum? A: It is amazing, how versatile the BCAITC educational resources are, they can really be implemented into many different subject areas and different curriculums. I would highly recommend using these free amazing resources and allowing your students to guide the conversation.

About the Teacher Champion Series: This monthly BCAITC series features BC teachers and school staff who are passionate about providing agriculture and food education to K-12 students. For more information, contact BCAITC Communications Coordinator, communications@aitc.ca.