Sustainable Agriculture in The Yukon

This resource is intended to help students look critically at sustainable agriculture in the Yukon. It is designed to be adapted to your science, geography, environmental or social studies curriculum. Grades 8 to 12 can benefit from these materials.

There are two parts. The first is a fun, informative look at agriculture in the Yukon. Photocopy this section and have your students read it (to save time and paper, photocopy one set for groups of three students), or you may put the set onto overhead sheets and share it with the whole class.

The second part provides a role drama and activities for the students to help them apply the knowledge gained in part one.

This booklet is designed so that it is enjoyable for you and your students to read. All the information about sustainable agriculture in the Yukon is contained in one booklet and the activities provided are easy to follow.

This booklet opens the door into agriculture, sustainability, and local and global environmental issues. It may spark areas of interest for you and your students to explore further. Additional educational materials may be obtained from the Agriculture Branch to assist in your research.

Contents

1. Agriculture in the Yukon: it is expanding
2. Taking a closer look: how big is the Yukon's agriculture-food business?
3. Benefits of agriculture: creating more stability through agriculture
4. Growing conditions: farmers adapt to Yukon growing conditions
5. What grows here: the Yukon produces a variety of products
6. Critiquing agriculture: some say it can't be done
7. Canada-Yukon Agreement on the Agriculture-Food Component of the Green Plan: an agreement that supports the environment
8. Sustainability: it's one of the most talked about concepts in years
9. The amazing world within the soil: helping us understand why sustainability makes so much sense
10. Fertilizers and pesticides: a "hot topic" within sustainable agriculture
11. Nitrogen fixation: plants add nitrogen to the soil naturally
12. Organic farming: is it sustainable?
13. Crop rotation: crop rotations are an essential tool in sustainable agriculture
14. Soil conservation: a properly sustainable system is soil conserving
15. Agriculture and wildlife: developing strategies to protect wildlife
16. Loss of agricultural land: the greatest threat to sustainability
17. Glossary of terms
18. Hands on activities: putting together what we know about sustainable agriculture in the Yukon
19. Activity suggestions
20. Sustainable agriculture: explored through drama 

For a copy of this publication, please e-mail us agriculture@gov.yk.ca or phone us at (867) 667-5838.

You can also write:

Agricultural Branch
Department of Energy, Mines and Resources
Government of Yukon
Box 2703
Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A 2C6

 

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