Weyburn teacher Marlene Ronsman has been named an agricultural ambassador by the Agriculture in the Classroom program.

The program, formed in 1995 to promote awareness and education of the agriculture and agri-food industry in Saskatchewan schools, named Ronsman as an ambassador after learning of her efforts teaching kids about farming and animals at Assiniboia Park Elementary School.

Ronsman lives on an acreage at Tyvan and owns a wide variety of animals, including various breeds of chickens, peacocks, sheep, horses and even a llama.

She brings the animals into her classroom for her students to look at and learn about. Ronsman's students hatched eggs in school last year, and each child grew an oak tree.

Her five and six-year-old students also learn about harvest in the fall, seeds and food.

Ronsman says it's important for urban children to learn about life on the farm.

"A lot of city kids are getting pretty removed from farming, since farmers are getting to be fewer. It's good for the kids to realize milk doesn't come out of a carton," she said.

Now Ronsman will receive special instructional materials from Agriculture in the Classroom (AITC) to supplement what she already teaches.

Everything from farming practices, farming safety and genetically modified foods are covered in the Kindergarten to Grade 12 curriculum.

For example, a CD-ROM called Apples for Teachers includes information on topics like pork production, farm animal care and growing plants.

Students at the upper elementary levels can learn from a soil kit that contains samples from five different soil regions in Saskatchewan, along with various seeds and fertilizers. They grow the crops on a small scale to learn about the limits and benefits of certain soils and what fertilizer can do to a plant.

The goal of AITC, which is funded through industry donations and federal and provincial grants, is to have an agriculture ambassador in every school in the province by the year 2005.

"We sure cherish our agricultural ambassadors. We appreciate all they do to promote the agriculture industry," said program director Al Morhart.