April 2020
The AITC-C Cultivator
Adapting to Change!
A Message from Johanne Ross , Executive Director
Greetings,

As we find ourselves in the unusual circumstances of physical distancing and self-isolation due to the global pandemic of COVID-19, AITC-C sincerely hopes that all of you, our stakeholders and partners, are safe and well and finding energy wherever you may be hunkered in. We are sending our wishes for good health and continued success as we all make changes to daily life as a result of the pandemic.

The AITC-C team has always worked remotely across the country, so this is nothing new! We continue to operate virtually and our staff are functioning at full-speed. Now, maybe more than ever, teachers AND parents are turning to us for interactive, engaging, online supports and we are here to serve! Through our ten provincial AITC organizations, the agri-food education and learning will continue!

Thank you to all of our partners for standing with us through this unprecedented time. Please feel free to reach out and connect anytime. In the meantime, we promise to stay in touch with you and provide updates on our continued efforts across Canada.

Wishing you good health and happiness,
Johanne Ross
Executive Director, AITC-C
The AITC Pivot ...
  • We are expanding the reach of provincial communications across Canada to support virtual agriculture education, investigating what we can offer teachers and parents from a national teaching tool perspective.
  • We are communicating directly and reaching out to all our current donor partners to have the opportunity to check in.
  • We are committed to saving costs in our day-to-day, while still supporting our mission and moving ahead on all projects as outlined by staff updates below.
  • We are also focused on planning and preparing so we are ready to re-launch and soar as soon as we are able to get past the current world events!
BIENVENUE! AITC-C Welcomes Québec !
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On March 19th, AITC-C took a monumental step by welcoming École-O-Champ on board to represent AITC in Québec . We are now TRULY cost-to-coast! See the big news here .
Responding to COVID-19
A Few Downs

  • We are worried and thinking about all of AITC-C's friends and family who are experiencing challenges and struggles as a result of COVID-19.
  • We have no students in Canadian classrooms. We are sending positive energy and support to educators and parents who are facing a new world of delivering learning to Canadian students.
  • The postponement of engAGe Toronto - we will be back in fall 2020!
  • The postponement of all Stakeholder Impact Sessions for April-June, but all will be rescheduled as soon as possible in the fall of 2020!
  • Cancellation of the AITC-C Summer Sharing Session that was scheduled in BC in June 2020 - we are exploring virtual options to connect, share, and learn! Stay Tuned!

Silver Linings

We have been given the gift of time and space, to plan, prepare, reflect, and focus. We are using it wisely and are thankful we are in a position to continue to engage, connect, and produce results as an AITC-C team.

We have adapted to the changing educational needs of our country. Our provincial member organizations are working diligently to provide resources about agriculture and food that are easy to use at home! Visit our Learn from Home page.
We are celebrating a brand new strategic plan . It is inspiring and motivating and will set a clear course for 3 years of growth, development, and impact.
We are aspiring towards our new Vision: Agriculture in every classroom, inspiring every student!
We are driven by our new Mission: Cultivating meaningful connections to agriculture and food for educators and students.
Our staff continues to work hard on all projects and initiatives, see below for some updates from the team!
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Due to COVID-19, engAGe Toronto has been postponed to fall 2020. There was excellent engagement from Ontario's agriculture and food community to participate in the event, and the positivity is certain to carry into fall!

Additionally, there are a couple of exciting projects in the works!
  • A thinkAG website is officially under construction- stay tuned for updates!
  • The number of ag and food career profiles available to students is growing as we continue to work with myBlueprint to enhance their ag career profiles.
  • AITC-C has recently partnered with Let's Talk Science to expand STEM-focused career profiles.
Please contact Shayla Hertz , thinkAG Manager, for more information about thinkAG initiatives.
From our Educator's Desk
We have extended the deadline for the G3 Grow Beyond Scholarship so that students will have until May 1st to submit their 2-4 minute video essay. Public voting is now open on the website, check it out here!

We have FIVE new snapAG information sheets all about protein coming to our website soon! Stay tuned to our social media channels for more information. If you are looking for resources to support learning from home, check out our Learn from Home page that features resources, activities and videos from our provincial member organizations.
March 2020 is our 9th year of delivering Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month to thousands of students across Canada. COVID-19 halted our delivery, but we want to thank our partners Corteva, Cargill and Canadian Agricultural Partnership for their support. Our volunteers are the ones that make CALM such a success, we truly appreciate volunteering your time to tell our food story.
To learn more about educational initiatives contact Melissa Galay , Education Specialist.
THANK YOU to our Foundational Partners!
Our partners play a vital role in helping to ensure that all students in Canada have the opportunity to learn about agriculture and food. We are truly grateful for your ongoing support.
*Funding provided by RBC Foundation in support of RBC Future Launch