The Agricultural Science students have had massive success in the ‘Game of Drones’ Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Plant Science Project Awards! Jessica Perro has won the Conference Award, entitling her to $1000 to attend the World of Drones Congress in Brisbane where she has also been invited to present.
Travis Kuijpers-Weeks has come Runner Up for the Paul Johnston Memorial Senior Science Award, 
for which he receives a plaque, certificate and $500 to put towards a subscription for a scientific journal. Travis has also received a Highly Commended from QUT for the Most Outstanding Poster Award, and he will receive a further $50 and a certificate for this.
Finally, Glasshouse Christian College came second overall in the entire national competition based on all of the Year 10 Agricultural Science students, along with Jess Perro’s work! To say we are amazed and excited is an understatement! So incredibly proud of each student that entered!
So, what really was required of the students you may ask? First, they had to conduct an experiment that looked into factors that affected plant growth and how these could be analysed by drone technology. The students ran a fertiliser trial over eight weeks, looking at the effects of fertiliser application forms on growth rate and plant health, and assessed the plant growth using digital technologies. They then had to investigate the roles of technology in current Australian agriculture, which included grower and technical expert surveys, interviews and solid research, to be presented as a scientific poster. Finally, the students had to put together a time-lapse of plant growth and get a little creative.
Certainly a lot of work, but the Aggies persisted and it has certainly paid off! Do you have what it takes to become an Agricultural Researcher? If you think you’d like to have a go next year at the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Plant Science Awards, feel free to contact me and I’ll be sure to get the information out to you next year. Every year is a new and exciting topic, so you never quite know what is coming!
Jade King, Head of Agricultural Science