We are lucky enough to have a vegetable garden in our school. The garden is cared for by students in the support unit.
Every week they walk around and sell the wonderful organic produce to the staff at Northlakes High School.
This week the students won second place in the Wyong Shire Garden Competition.
What an awesome job….proof that farming is indeed everyone’s business!
Great job Team Northlakes!
Above is an interesting graphic outlining the fact and figures about Agriculture in Australia.
As a class we will definitely be looking into this more throughly in the future, because farming does effect everybody. We have learnt through our studies in the Archibull Prize this year that farmers really do matter….we could not live the lives we do without all of the hardwork they do on the land.
Well we all thought that yesterday was the last day working our Archibull Artwork…but we were wrong!
Because of unforeseen circumstances, with the knitting needles breaking….our journey wasn’t quite over…..
Today we attached the new, improved and much stronger needles….large pieces of wood, liquid nails, lots more bubble wrap for stuffing and of course more red stitching….tying all the other elements together …we had to make our unforeseen circumstances work for us!!!
Well I think we did it!
We can’t believe our journey is over….we have done and learnt much more than we ever thought we could….what a ride….we are all going to sleep well tonight….
Great job Team Northlakes….xxx
The imagination is a crazy thing…..it is the home of all our ideas and dreams. In our minds through our Archibull journey we all had some crazy ideas….some thought they were impossible….we couldn’t possibly do that!
But we are proof that in the world of imagination anything is possible!
If you can dream it, then you can do it!
Well done Team Northlakes!
We had a lot of finishing touches to do on Woolbaakee. We had a list and we all had a jobs to complete. Once again the wonderful group of year 10 students gave up their entire day so our Archibull entry was painted to her very best.
As we were working in the corridor Jimmy Barnes blared from an iPhone and we all chatted about life in general. Lots of teachers and students walked past and commented on our Archi….THEY LOVED IT! I wish there was enough room around the cow for 100 students to work…we had a lot more volunteers!
At the conclusion of the day, we were all so tired, but mustered up the energy to trek Woolbaakee down to the hall for one last photo shoot.
Disaster struck when the giant wooden knitting needles and large tapestries become unbalanced and snapped!!!!!
We couldn’t let that stop us. We needed to get photographs for our artwork analysis, so Paige ran back up to the classroom and got a ball of strong black wool. We attached the wool around both ends of the needles and Brandon (who is very tall for someone in year 8), threw the ball of wool up and caught it on a large hook that was on the brick wall behind our cow. Two students held either side of the wool, to keep the needles upright.
If you look close at the photos you will see the black wool in the background.
Once all the photos had been taken, from almost every angle possible we needed to consider how to fix this major problem.
Mrs Dowe took the knitting needles, poles and tapestries home for her husband to fix.
The new and improved version is much stronger than the original, now Mrs Dowe just has to attach it to the back of Woolbaakee tomorrow….nothing like leaving it to the last minute!!!!
We had a very full and productive last day of working all together…and what a fitting ending to have quite a major problem to solve!!
After all…..WE ARE THE PROBLEM SOLVERS….WE HUNT FOR SOLUTIONS!
We contacted Bessie the other day, because we needed to know what her ear identification tags were like…..we wanted to make Woolbaakee part of her Burragan flock!
Through the magical land of Facebook, her response was swift!
So here’s what we did!
Again we used what we had to create the tag, adding fleece from Bessie’s own flock to give the ear tag some form. We are very happy with the results!!!
We also added her woollen care instructions, so when she’s away from us she will still be properly cared for.
And our last bit of business to attend, was to add the helicopter hovering above the woven woollen valley…it’s herding the sheep, like on Bessie’s farm. Her farm is so large that sometimes they use technology like this.
The 7th of October will be our final day working on our Archi for 2015.
We can’t believe our journey has almost come to an end. It has been a road with lots of challenges and obstacles, but we are problem solvers…so we have loved every moment.
Stay tuned for our final blog post for our artwork journey!
Biosecurity is like a shield of protection for the farm
Prevention is better than Solution
Protect our Environment & Economy
As part of The Archibull Prize in 2015 our team has investigated Biosecurity and how we can protect our sheep and wool from the nasty pests and diseases.
We discovered that ‘Biosecurity is a Shared Responsibility’ and is relevant to everyone who owns or works with animals.
This is not limited to livestock and poultry, in fact simple biosecurity measures can protect your pet bird, dog or other family pet from pests and disease. As some animal diseases are zoonotic; meaning they can also affect us — biosecurity can also protect you. Biosecurity measures help protect our economy, environment and people’s health from pests and disease.
As Australia does not have nasty diseases like Foot and Mouth disease it is very important that we all work together to ensure none of us bring it into the country accidently
We learnt that food; plant material and animal products from overseas – including many common souvenirs – can introduce some of the world’s most serious pests and diseases into Australia, devastating our valuable agriculture and tourism industries and unique environment.
We have all watched episodes of “Border petrol” on the TV. We see food and plant materials being bought into our country all the time – these food and plant materials put Australia’s Biosecurity at risk, because we don’t know where they have come from. Awareness and knowledge is one of the first steps. When you know better; you can do better.
IF IT’S BANNED LEAVE IT OVERSEAS
On the Farm Biosecurity – What does it look like?
On farm the biosecurity goals for Sheep and Wool Producers are:
Hand, Foot & Mouth Disease – Biosecurity in Australia 06/10/2015
Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious animal disease that would have severe consequences were it to be introduced into Australia. There have been a number of outbreaks in FMD-free countries that have had large socio-economic impacts. The 2001 outbreak in the United Kingdom caused losses of more than 8 billion pounds (approximately $AUD 19 billion).
We have all witnessed the recent outbreaks of this devastating disease in countries oversea. We as Australians can learn from their mistakes and protect our environment, economy and animals and most importantly our future.
More recently, outbreaks have continued to be seen in free countries. FMD occurred again in the United Kingdom in 2007, while Taiwan ROC reported several outbreaks beginning in February 2009. In 2010 both Japan and the Republic of Korea experienced large FMD outbreaks which required extensive programs to control. The 2010–11 Korean outbreak is estimated to have cost the government some 3 trillion won (about $US 2.7 billion).
Australia estimates that a small FMD outbreak, controlled in 3 months, could cost around $AUD 7.1 billion, while a large 12 month outbreak would cost $AUD 16 billion.
To manage the risk, both government and industry engage in significant prevention, planning and preparedness. Beyond its borders, Australia has invested heavily in building the capacity of countries in the region to combat diseases, including support for the World Animal Health Organisation (OIE) Southeast Asia and China FMD Campaign (SEACFMD). This project involves the coordinated control of FMD by eleven countries in the Southeast Asia region. However, FMD remains endemic in most of these eleven countries. Australia also maintains a strong biosecurity program at the border to manage FMD risks, and also undertakes extensive planning and preparedness activities to ensure that should an incursion occur, the disease can be contained and controlled as quickly as possible.
To understand this, you could compare an animal infected with Hand, Foot & Mouth disease to a person who is infected with the flu. When we have the flu, we stay home from school; we are isolated from our friends and teachers so we don’t make them sick as well. That is one way of controlling the spread of infection.
The Australian Government, through the Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources is continuing its efforts to ensure that Australia is well-prepared to manage the disease, and in 2011 sought the advice of Mr Ken Matthews AO to provide a qualitative assessment of Australia’s readiness to respond to the threat of FMD.
It is always better to prevent the risk of disease in the first place; however if there is an outbreak Australian are ready to respond and get on top of it as quickly as possible.
Source: http://www.agriculture.gov.au/pests-diseases-weeds/animal/fmd
We were looking through some old Archi photos from last year and came across this one. There are a few familiar faces in here……last year three of these students were in year 7 and helped moved our cow around the school any chance they got!
This year these guys have helped form the core Archibull group in 8WL. Goes to show….the more change, the more things stay the same!
The Australian agricultural industries as a whole make an important contribution to sustainability—environmental, economic and social improvements and managing biosecurity matters.
Meat & Livestock Australia (MLA) invest up to $7 million per year supporting environmental sustainability as well as animal health, welfare & biosecurity to aid farmers in reducing emissions, water use and managing the land. It is important not only for the environment but also for our farmers and their animals that grow a premium product which is exported all over the world. MLA’s investments return productivity benefits for producers, health benefits for animals and ensure community expectations of the highest possible animal welfare standards are met. Best practice in regards to animal welfare, health and biosecurity are critical considerations at all stages of the livestock production chain. Each impacts on farm productivity and farmer’s social license to operate. As a result, MLA’s extensive portfolio of animal health, welfare & biosecurity research and development has been used to produce best practice guidelines for cattle, sheep and goat enterprises.
The Australian wool industry, through MLA and in collaboration with the Australian Government, invests up to $5 million annually in research and development to support growth and understanding of the importance of grazing and pasture management. The focus of grazing & pasture management R&D includes areas such as; plant breeding and pre-breeding technologies; pasture variety trials; new forages for production and resource management benefits; pasture management to improve forage quality; Incorporating new forages into management systems and lastly, grazing system design. This is one with the aim to increase production by 2.5% per hectare/year, without decline in sustainability indicators.
In Australia, animals are mostly grazed on large areas of semi-arid and arid rangelands. This method of production is unique to Australia and means that overseas figures and data on environmental impact are not applicable to our industry. Our unique production systems and commitment to continuous improvement have led to Australian producers being recognised around the world as leaders in producing some of the highest quality products, while also leading the way in environmentally sustainable farming practices, while keeping in mind the focus on animal health, welfare and biosecurity.
Australian farmers understand that protecting and improving the natural world is vital to the long-term sustainability of their business, while also reducing the impact of global warming and climate change.
Across the country, many livestock farmers are managing weeds, pests and feral animals; helping maintain biodiversity; and reducing the risk of biosecurity outbreaks. They’re also improving water management efficiency in their grazing systems by maintaining healthy soils with adequate nutrients, minimising runoff through vegetation management, and monitoring the frequency and intensity of grazing. In doing so, Australia’s farmers are balancing the needs of the grazing animal, the pasture, the environment and biosecurity risks.
As custodians of 61% of Australia’s landmass, farmers recognise their responsibility to the environment all inclusive. Every step of the way, from paddock to plate or fibre to fashion, they make it a priority to continuously improve environmental management, increase sustainability and manage and prevent biosecurity risk. We’re extremely proud of the high-quality produce they provide and we’re equally proud of the conscious and successful effort we put toward environmental, economic and social sustainability.
Target 100 is an initiative by Australian cattle and sheep farmers, processors and the broader agricultural industry to proactively deliver sustainable cattle and sheep farming by 2020. It outlines 100 research, development and extension initiatives funded through industry bodies to continually improve sustainability and the impact of farming on the Australian environment. Target 100 has a commitment to take positive action, both big and small, to continually improve the way farmers operate and improve sustainability throughout the Australian agricultural supply chain. Apart from harnessing the latest technology and science to reduce carbon footprints, it’s also about sharing good ideas, celebrating successes and providing a focal point for environmental, social and ethical farming action to ensure a sustainable food and produce source. Australian farmers are caretakers of the land and are leading the way globally and are committed to leaving it in better shape than when they found it.
To learn more about Target 100 initatives you can click here
School: Northlakes High School
Name: “Woolbaakee – Weaving an Australian Woollen Dream”
Commodity: Wool
What years and classes were involved?
8WL – Learning Supported Class, Year 10 students (6), Aboriginal art group (6) & Other students (10).
Theme:
Australian Wool’s journey from the sheep’s back to ours & beyond. Our priority was to demonstrate the intertwining, reciprocal relationships and links between all sectors of the supply chain along its journey using painted line, movement, direction and symbolic elements.
Concept:
The artwork examines the various stages of wool production in the Australian agricultural and farming industry through to consumers and the fashion industry – all the way from the paddock, off the sheep’s back through to the fashion industry and onto our backs as consumers.
We arrived at the decision to name our Archi “Woolbaakee – Weaving an Australian Woollen Dream” late in our journey. No other names seemed to suit our story. We drew on a number of different references and suggestions from the wider school community, settling on “Woolbaakee”. With obvious inspiration from our allocated commodity, joined with “kee” on the end, directly connecting with Australian fashion and wool industry icon, Jenny Kee.
Giant tapestries and oversized wooden knitting needles hover above the entire artwork epitomising Australia’s long and rich cultural history in the wool industry. The knitting needles are attached to at base which has been stuffed with plastic bubble wrap and covered with woollen fabric. We have also repeated the red stitching and lines of painted wool to balance the rest of the artwork.
Patch-worked through the artwork are symbolic elements and logos associated with the Australian wool and fashion industries such as “Australian Wool Innovation” (AWI), “Meat & Livestock Australia” (MLA) and “The Woolmark Company” as well as innovative Australian farming initiatives like “Target 100”.
High on our agenda was to incorporate symbolic references to innovative Australian farming initiatives like “Target 100” and “MLA” that promote environmentally sustainable and responsible farming practices through their
R&D projects. This is important because the Australian livestock industry to maximise their productivity and profit, while being responsible global citizens.
A major focus of study for us in 2015 was learning about the benefits of native vegetation feeding represented by the Aboriginal artwork in our design. On display, the delicate balancing act between all elements in the natural environment (native and introduced) to produce a premium product, which is exported worldwide.
Lengths of boldly painted intertwining woollen twine form the basis of the artwork on the hind legs. The artwork appears to emerge from a tangled mess of vibrantly coloured yarn, emphasised by the strategically placed painted balls of wool, which are repeated through the artwork giving cohesion and balance.
Collaged fashion designs from the “Wool4Skool Project”. This project invites Secondary school students to design garments using Australian Merino wool were scattered through the landscape. Adding Merino wool fabric samples to the collage increases the authenticity, while adding texture.
A highly stylized image of a fashion model wearing a knitted jumper made from Merino wool was thoughtfully collaged into the paddocks and valleys in the background. Her shape and form mimics that of the landscape in the background.
“Woolbaakee” wears a custom made, 100% Merino wool beanie with a giant pom-pom. The wool for the beanie was donated to us from “White Gum Wool” in Tasmania. Nan Bray (WGW) is also known for her environmentally sustainable, friendly farming practices, which we studied in class this year.
Attached to our Archi are her care instructions, making sure she is cared for as woollen garments should be.
Woollen friendship bands were handcrafted by members of 8WL and attached to form petals around the flower adoring Woolbaakee’s beanie. While adding interest and texture to the artwork, the friendship bands go further to reinforce the strong bonds, relationships and teamwork which have resulted because of our involvement in the 2015 Archibull Prize.
The leaves were created using hand dyed cut outs which were up cycled from a100% Merino wool blanket.
Each student who worked on the artwork in 2015 placed a single fingerprint on the cow in various places. Although they are not highly visible to the naked eye, they emphasise our strong bond and reinforce our team’s efforts.
Individual woollen swirls cover Woolbaakee’s faces to replicate sheep’s wool and give a wonderful texture and point of difference and character to our Archibull. Every member of 8WL contributed to the decoration that covers her face.
A range of Aboriginal artwork and traditional dot painting interwoven throughout our artwork from the tips of the horns all the way to the tip of her tail; paying homage to the talented Aboriginal population of students we have at Northlakes High School, as well as making links to the land and using Australian native flora for flock feeding in the Australian farming industry.
An Aboriginal styled, woollen felt lizard travels off the front leg, making its way off the background of Aboriginal art and back to the valley below, further reinforcing the need for balance in farming to keep the natural environment healthy.
Climate change and the environment is another element which impacts on Australian farmers; by recycling the plastic bubble wrap we reduced waste and landfill thus helping the environment; furthermore we used rubbish from the playground to fill our wire support structure, which created the base of the woven valley. We also padded out “Woolbaakee’s” woollen beanie with the leftover bubble wrap to give it form and structure.
The woven, woollen platform is literally and symbolically the ground from which the entire artwork and industry grows through the hard-working Australian woolgrowers.
Hovering above the platform is a small helicopter. When Bessie visited Northlakes High School she informed students that one way they herd sheep on her farm (because it is so large) is to use a little helicopter. Students thought this was wonderful!
Nestled in the woven patchwork valley is a lone sheep that has been covered with red wool and is attached to a single red ball of wool, from which all the other stitching emerges reinforcing the interconnections between all elements of the industry from the ground up.
Patchwork woollen squares are sewn together using lengths of red wool representing the Australian farmers. We are making the statement; “Australian farmers are the bloodline of our country – holding it all together”. The end result is a covering over the surface of the valley like a patchwork blanket, which is common in many Australian households, but used in a way to represent the Australian farming landscape in an abstract and creative way.
The patchwork pattern is mimicked in paint up the length of the front leg to reinforce and unify the link between wool producers, the land and production process as the wool moves through its journey.
The red stitching, which borders each patch, is repeated from the valley below, creating unity within the artwork. The patchwork element is further repeated to cover our Archibull’s udders and held together with red stitching again, reinforcing our message.
Overlaid throughout the artwork are small painted patchwork squares with statistics about the Australian wool industry.
Included throughout our artwork are multiple references to our Young Farming Champion Bessie Thomas. One of the highlights for students was Bessie’s visit to Northlakes High School, represented by our school logo on the patchwork base.
We constructed a small flock of sheep from actual fleece from Bessie’s sheep, which dot the landscape of the woven patchwork valley supporting the entire artwork.
We made logos and icons created from felt to symbolise our bond with Bessie. Our communication was predominantly through Facebook and email after the initial visit to our school, so thought it appropriate to include those symbols in our story.
Further subtle references to our YFC have been included through our visual narrative including a wool truck in the driveway; “Flip” the Jack Russell; a stack of tractor tires with signage pointing in the direction of the “main road” and to the “shed”, which was originally used on Bessie’s farm so the shearers knew which direction to go; and finally our Archibull has an identification tag in her left ear, because that’s the side for girls; the tag is specific to Bessie’s flock from Burragan. Woolbaakee’s identification tag is filled with greasy wool from Bessie’s own flock.
We believe our relationship with Bessie was paramount to our concept and through that students were better able to connect with lessons about agriculture, because they were able to put a face to it. We could not have done it without our Young Farming Champion Bessie!
Stylistic influences:
“Woolbaakee, Weaving an Australian Woollen Dream” is matchless and distinctive in style through the strong use of line induced by our actual commodity, wool.
Our first strike of inspiration comes from “Mulga The Artist”, who is a Sydney based poet, mural artist and freelance illustrator. Known for his unique style of intricate line work & bright colours. We knew when we stumbled across his artwork we could utilise line and direction in our artwork focusing on the line and movement and tangles wool naturally creates.
Further influences emerged from images in the “Mindfulness Colouring Book”, reinforcing the idea and concept of interwoven natural thin lines of wool (replicated with paint) made up a large part of our piece.
The bold colour choices of Jenny Kee and subject matter have influenced our colour palette through the artwork. Kee was the perfect designer to include, as she is an Australian icon in the fashion and wool industry; and just by chance, she was also painted for the 2015 “Achibald Prize”, so we thought it even more appropriate to recontextualise her portrait to include the signage “Archibull Prize”. The use of line, colour and her direct links to the wool and fashion industry blended almost seamlessly into our existing work to reinforce our story of wool’s journey from fibre to fashion.
What makes your Archibull unique?
Our artwork is highly distinctive in approach, technique and delivery. Each section of our artwork has a direct connection to the Australian wool industry, expressed in a unique and imaginative way; furthermore each element relates to the next, narrating the story in a cohesive and comprehensive way. Our work is full of minute detail, subtle and not so subtle references and links to the Australian wool industry and the journey from fibre to fashion.
Our artwork is incredibly resourceful and innovative. We have included actual waste from our school playground and metres and metres of plastic bubble wrap, which would have ended up in landfill, adding to the issue of global warming and climate change. As an artwork, we have taken lessons learnt in class and put them into action to demonstrate real world learning in an eclectic visual response.
Our Archibull artwork for 2015 is a tribute to the Australian agricultural industry and the farmers who work 7 days a week, 365 day a year to produce the highest quality wool, for us and the rest of the world.
Northlakes High School Archibull 2015 