Where does your food come from?
That was the question asked to the École Elizabeth Barrett School kindergarten class last Wednesday during their field trip to WineGlass Cattle Ranch.
Ranch operators Travis and Kara Eklund invited the classes out because they believe in early education and wanted to promote teaching the children about the origins of their food, Kara explained.
“Most of the kids have never been on a ranch and to find out where their food comes from is important,” said Kara.
Nine kindergarten classes came to visit the ranch throughout the day, learning about cattle, horses, grassland management, and a typical day in the life of a cowboy or cowgirl.
“What do cowboys and cowgirls do,” Edith Wearmouth, previous operator of WineGlass Ranch asked one of the classes in the morning.
The girls and boys had a variety of answers including, “ride horses” and “look after cows.”
“The (kids) are so far removed from where their food comes from, it is important to teach them,” Wearmouth said in-between presenting to the groups.
The ranch, just outside of Cochrane, has been family owned for more than 131 years and is currently home to approximately 300 cow-calf pairs.
“I thought this would be a good opportunity for the kids to have a blast and learn a lot,” said Susanne McArthur, kindergarten teacher.
The children got to spend a half-day at the ranch going between four to five different stations with an assortment of activities – from learning how to rope a calf, to exploring the barn. They also went on a scavenger hunt to find seven different ranching-related items.
“The kids might have gone to visit ranches but I don’t think many have been to a working cattle ranch … and we are so lucky, (the operators) are so welcoming to all the classes,” McArthur said.
The owners encourage schools that are interested in doing a tour or school field trip to contact them.
For more information on tours and school field trips go to wineglassranchalberta.com.
