Gallagher Landcare Fencing Grant creates opportunities at Winnaleah District School

Gallagher electric fencing solutions are enabling the students of Winnaleah District School to develop skills in environmental science, technology, engineering, mathematics (STEM), literacy and project management. The teachers at the K-12 school, located in northeast Tasmania, have been able to develop innovative teaching and learning environments.

The STEM, literacy and project management subjects are integrated into Food and Fibre Production, a key specialist subject taught at the school at every year level from kindergarten to year 10. Winnaleah is within a landscape of rolling hills and farmland, and many families involved with the school come from dairy and crop farming properties in the area.

When Gallagher Australia provided funding through its 2019 Gallagher Landcare Fencing Grants to support community-led electric fencing projects, Winnaleah school was one of those chosen for a grant. The Winnaleah school has a strong community partnership with local farmers, Landcare and other groups.

It’s also important to the community that the school offers students opportunities to learn about modern farming practices, so they can become part of the local skilled workforce; and at Winnaleah District School those skills now include learning about the wireless technology which is available to operate fencing, gates and irrigation.

Community support adds value

The Winnaleah District School farm, on 40 acres, has traditionally been stocked with just a few beef cattle, but the community recognised that with some infrastructure investment, there were opportunities to increase the stocking rate, involve the students in learning livestock management and husbandry skills, and learn how to grow pasture and crops. At the same time, there were environmental values on the farm that needed to be protected and enhanced.

The contribution of electric fencing product by Gallagher Australia was met in-kind by the community, with farmers and fencing contractors bringing their equipment and tools along to working bees, along with their labour. One of those fencing contractors was Gallagher’s own Territory Manager for Tasmania, Justin Cooper.

“The Winnaleah school is quite unique and services a large rural area,” Justin says. “A lot of the farm fencing was old and falling down.”

Local farmers brought their tractors to help pull down the old fencing and prepare the fenceline and gave their time to help erect the new fences.

With the Gallagher funding, the farm now has five-wire electric fencing, with three hot-wires, an earth and one plain wire, supported by Insulated Line Posts and Electric Fence Droppers. The Electric Fence Droppers extend post spacing, so less posts are needed to maintain tension in the fence.

The fence is supported by traditional end-assemblies, built by Justin, with help from students.

“We put in one kilometre of fencing, an i Series Energizer, and a WiFi Gateway,” he says.

The i Series Energizer is connected to the WiFi Gateway and then synched to the Ag Devices App, which sends fence performance information straight to the phone of the user.

WiFi compatibility enables the Energizer to use artificial intelligence algorithms to identify changes in fence performance and users can then remotely turn the unit on and off using the Gallagher Ag Devices App. This enables sections of the fence to be isolated for maintenance and then remotely switched back on.

Four Fence Monitors have been installed and allow the farm to be zoned, helping students, teachers and the farm manager to streamline animal movement and management.

The entire fence infrastructure is also ensuring students are learning how to use modern technology in agriculture.

 

Fencing to build a better farm

Using Gallagher electric fencing solutions has enabled the farm to be set up for easy livestock control, enhancing student and animal safety and welfare.

Taking down the old fence and installing new permanent electric fencing was also an opportunity to reconfigure paddocks for rotational and strip grazing systems that enable students to develop pasture management skills. A laneway was also installed, improving access and safety throughout the farm. Leading to the stockyards, it also encourages quiet livestock handling.

“The new fencing allowed us to create a laneway from one end of the farm to the other, which enabled us to make it much easier to manage and move livestock,” says Keeley Lester, Food and Fibre Production Leader, Winnaleah District School.

“We wanted to supply our kids with opportunities to learn technology and other skills through the farm.

“In our application for funding, we stated we wanted to design the school farm fencing to replicate the terrain of dairy and cropping farms around us.

“We wanted to focus on the latest technology, with WiFi Gateways. Part of the planning with students focussed on discussing why we would fence the farm the way we have and looking at other farms for design ideas.”

The Gallagher electric fencing products have also provided the farm with the ability to install permanent irrigation, to improve pasture production. A two-stage improvement has seen a pipe and riser installed in every paddock and popup sprinklers on the school oval, utilising an irrigation license from the nearby Cascade Dam.

“We can isolate paddocks, so we can improve pasture and grow crops. The students have grown potatoes every year, and harvested hay,” Keeley says.

“They’ve been able to sell the potatoes and keep some for cooking classes. Last year, some of the students held a ‘Potato Off’, where groups produced the best baked potato.

 

An integrated learning environment

With the pandemic cutting off options for excursions during 2020 and 2021, the school farm has been an even more valuable resource for learning and participation.

“We fenced a wetland area, to build it up as a natural learning environment,” Keeley says.

“Now anyone can take their class down and explore the wetland and move through the entire area safely.”

Plans for the wetland include specific plantings of habitat and other vegetation to protect and encourage birds, amphibious animals and insect life to inhabit the area.

Community support includes partnerships with Landcare, local Parks officers, BushKinder and local Aboriginal Elders, helping to improve the space and manage it.

“We’ve been able to use the wetland as an environmental teaching open classroom,” Keeley says. “We have participated in tree planting and integrated eco-studies into food and fibre teaching and learning activities.

“We’re integrating learning about First Nations bushfood products. The school has students of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background and we all want to incorporate cultural learning within the space.”

The farm business is now able to diversify into steers, cows with calves and sheep, and develop pasture trials and ecostudies. Future plans include building a shearing shed and installing a chicken run with a caravan.

“Spending time on the farm, the students develop science, maths and project management skills – vaccinating animals, packaging potatoes for sale – and writing about their activities,” Keeley says.

“As our school farm is fully self-funded, everything sold has to go back into maintaining the farm. Fencing had been a priority for some time.

“With Gallagher donating the product, this meant our money could go towards constructing the fence. Contractors and the community donated skills and time to erect the fence. We were able to use the funds we had available to pay for such things as gates and the wood and wire to build end assemblies.”