Three Hauraki girls with a passion for farming are set to begin their farming careers together after spending a week on an educational farm in the deep south.
Hauraki Plains College farming academy year-12 students Leah Richards, Marlow Frost and Niamh Sands attended Experience Week at the Southern Institute of Technology Te Pūkenga Telford Campus from July 1 to 5, funded by the Haurakian Charitable Trust.
The aim of the hands-on experience was to encourage the students to recognise new possibilities and see there were no limits.
The Telford campus is an historic rural education institution on a 921 hectare working farm based south of Balclutha in the deep south.
The week helped the keen agriculture students discover their career path, as well as forge new friendships and battling fears of being homesick so far from family.
Inspired to encourage more girls to get into the farming industry, the trio saw studying at Telford as the next step, and with an interest in beef and sheep farming – all three students applied and were accepted to study level three farming systems and equipment next year.
Something that confirmed Telford was the right place for Leah was how the people there “made us feel at home”, she said.
“I get really bad homesickness, but while I was there I didn’t.”
Sixteen-year-old Leah told The Profile the experience made it clear that farming was the career for her, while 16-year-old Marlow said she always knew she wanted to do something that involved agriculture, and Niamh, 17, said she always had a passion for farming.
The experience helped the young farming enthusiasts step out of their comfort zones.
“We pushed ourselves to talk to others instead of being in the background. Out of this we formed some nice friendships which was cool,” they said.
“Girls can do anything and there is a variety of things in farming which could lead to so many different opportunities.”
It was obvious their agriculture education at Hauraki Plains College played a part in how prepared they were for some of the activities.
“We definitely had a head start on some activities, for example, on fencing and troughs.
“Our work experience on Fridays also has given us more knowledge,” they said.
What most excited the three students about the future of farming was being outside, learning new and challenging things and “keeping the farming culture alive”.
And the things they were most excited about for their shift to Telford next year was a new chapter of independence, to “do my own thing [and] learning heaps along the way”, and “not have to do dishes”, they said.
But what made Telford feel like home was the people, they said.
“It was so good, it felt like we clicked and had known them for years. There was never a dull moment because everyone was so funny and cheerful.”
Their advice for others interested in the Telford experience week was to do it.
“It’s great, you learn so much – new experiences, new people, new scenery.
“Don’t think twice.”
