KIDZONE is going global thanks to new support from Alltech. KIDZONE is an educational resource of Agri Aware, an Irish farm and food education organization. Teaching children about agriculture and food is something I think all of us here in America would like to see more of. The new KIDZONE resource is scheduled to launch later this year. I spoke with Dr. Pearse Lyons, pictured here with Mairead Lavery, Agri Aware, at yesterday’s press announcement. Dr. Lyons is holding up the teaching resources packet for class rooms called, “Dig In.” It is one of the items that will be translated into different languages as part of this effort. I would encourage American farm groups to look into this program.
Dr. Lyons says that he became aware of Agri Aware a few years ago and has supported it locally in Ireland since then. This new level of support is meant to allow the program to become available around the world.
I also asked him how things were going at this year’s Symposium. He says that attendance is strong at about 1,200 and that is impressive when you consider what he described as several strikes against them. For starters, the economy is discouraging travel, especially internationally. Additionally, Alltech began charging a fee for the Symposium for the first time this year. However, those factors have not dampened attendance which is testament to how important these folks believe the event is from a networking and professional improvement standpoint.
You can listen to my interview with Dr. Lyons here: alltech-symposium-lyons-1.mp3
You can also download the interview here: Dr. Pearse Lyons Remarks (mp3)