Interdependence. When two or more things rely on each other to survive. These past two weeks have opened up my mind to the importance of teaching interdependence in schools as before this module, I was ignorant towards the area and the issues.
We were given the opportunity to go to two very different farms; one was modernised and the other was organic. I was never one for going outdoors and playing around in the dirt, plus the slightest bad smell makes me gag but these trips have opened my mind to the ideas of farming and interdependence.
The first farm was called Strandhead and it was a completely different to what I expected. For one, the cows there are not allowed to go outside, they spend their whole lives stuck indoors. Another thing that stood out as being different was that every part of the farm was modernised. A machine made up the cow feed, another one delivered it (much like a hoover) and another one milked the cows. We were assured that the cows were all happy and everything that was being done was in their best interest and to be honest, nothing looked that bad. The idea of cows being mechanically milked however places unpleasant thoughts in my head that it would be painful and uncomfortable. The video below shows this fascinating process.
This farm was the one in which flagged up ethical issues. Beforehand I expected it to be very intense, with animals unhappy and in pain however I was pleasantly surprised. The pictures below show some of the farm and its animals, including calf’s
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The second farm was called Mossgiel and it was a completely organic farm. This farm reminded me most of a farm, the cows were not stuck indoors, and it looked more rustic than the other one. The cows at this farm were fed a multitude of things, the most interesting being potatoes and seaweed. Apparently, the seaweed reduces the amount of methane that the cows produce and in turn helps to slow down climate change. The farmers here used the traditional method of milking by which the pump is placed on the cow’s udders my hands and then a machine milks the cow as opposed to the other process of being completely done by machine. The cows here were placed near their babies as a way to reduce both the stress of the calf’s and the mums. There was a place where the mums could come over and see their babies, lie down and bond with them. The calf’s at Mossgiel were also given their mums milk as that is the only way that they can build up their immune system at that age. Most dairy calf’s are given powdered milk as opposed to their mother’s milk as the cost of milk outweighs the cost of the powdered milk. Mossgiel supplies most of its product to cafes as their milk has the highest fat percentage allowing for baristas to create coffee designs that last the longest. You can also buy the product yourself by phoning them up and placing an order. We were lucky enough to be given tasters of the milk, which to me tasted just like cream. The pictures below show Mossgiel farm.
I can see how effective taking a class of children to farms would be. They would be getting first-hand knowledge of what goes on at a farm as well as the diverse ways in which they get their food. I found the trips to be very engaging and fun however with a class of young children you would have to be careful with any health and safety risks. We could just touch the cows and, so you would have to reiterate to the children either to not touch any of the animals or not to touch their face until after they have washed their hands.
The next thing that was covered in the interdependence topic was healthy oceans with reference to four aspects; industry and economical, biodiversity, community impact and political elements. In small groups, we were to read several websites and watch some clips whilst picking out points relating to each of the four aspects in order to make an infographic. This was a very fun and engaging task as it allowed me to use my investigative skills as well as my creative ones to make an eye-catching piece of work. The link to our infographic.https://create.piktochart.com/output/25412201-new-piktochart
This type of work would be a great lesson in an upper school class as asking the children to research a topic and then create a piece of work would encourage them to be creative and develop multiple skills.
I have learned a lot of new things relating to interdependence these past two weeks that I never knew before such as that technology is playing such a huge part in farming and also that seaweed can help to reduce gas emissions from cows. I have also learned how much money goes into fishing as well what is being done to make our oceans healthy again, things that before this topic I knew nothing about.
