Between 100 and 150 schools across Australia enter this GRDC-supported competition each year

A long-running, GRDC-supported competition has opened the eyes of more than 120,000 school students to the wonders of agriculture and agricultural science.

The annual Hermitage Schools Plant Science Competition began in 1997 to celebrate the centenary of the Queensland Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Hermitage Research Facility on the Southern Downs.

DPI project officer Kerrie Rubie, who has coordinated the competition since its inception, says the event was so well received they decided to run it again.

“We’ve offered it every year since, and we’re now reaching between 100 and 150 schools across Australia through the competition, with about 3500 students participating on average any given year,” she says.

The purpose is to get children enthused, or to foster their interest in agriculture and agricultural science, and to consider the array of careers that are available.

The competition, which GRDC has supported for more than 15 years, engages students in hands-on projects focusing on a different agricultural theme in three categories: science, art and a citizen science BioQuest, which also attracts entries from overseas schools.

This allows students from prep to year 12 to take part in hands-on, agriculture-themed science experiments, create artworks and engage in outdoor activities. These include identifying and monitoring local insect, animal, plant and fungi species using a mobile gaming app.

Themes are aligned with real-world research at the Hermitage facility, giving students insight into agricultural challenges and innovations.

We’ve covered a variety of different topics over our many years. Plant breeding, water use efficiency, coleoptile length, achieving high yield crops, bees, plant genetics, soils and all sorts of topics that are related to what we do here and within the wider department.

Last year students explored ‘Fishing and Farming for the Future’, with prizes awarded to individuals, teams and classes.

Ms Rubie says 129 schools and 3591 students took part in the 2024 competition, with 37 schools from across Australia submitting 397 science and art entries.

Global reach

School teams from Argentina and Portugal were among the award winners in the Guardians of Earth ‘Pest Invaders’ BioQuest section, which attracted entries from 356 students who recorded 1194 species in their natural environment.

Prizes include scholarships and opportunities to attend conferences and science camps, providing students with further exposure to careers in agricultural science.

The major prize is the Earthwatch Student Challenge Fellowship, valued at $5000, which allows a student to spend a week working alongside research scientists in South Australia. GRDC has been a major sponsor of the competition since 2008, along with the Queensland DPI, Guardians of Earth and Earthwatch Australia.

Ms Rubie says feedback from teachers has been overwhelmingly positive.

“A lot of teachers appreciate the step-by-step resources provided that highlight links to the national curriculum, making it easy to integrate the competition’s project into classroom learning,” she says.

This year’s competition kicked off on 28 January, with the theme ‘Insects in Agriculture’, and wraps up on 27 June, followed by the Awards Day and Ag Science Expo at Hermitage Research Facility in August.

More information: Kerrie Rubie, kerrie.rubie@daf.qld.gov.au