Girls who Grow co-founders Catherine van der Meulen (left) and Aimee Blake (right).
Girls who Grow co-founders Catherine van der Meulen (left) and Aimee Blake (right).
Catherine van der Meulen and Aimee Blake’s mission is to educate and cultivate young women to take a climate-positive approach to agriculture and farming.
Van der Meulen and Blake started their initiative, Girls who Grow, to help achieve that goal.
The Girls who Grow education programme will travel around the Greater Wellington region over Terms 3 and 4, with van der Meulen speaking to young women about the primary sector.
Van der Meulen will visit colleges across Wellington, Wairarapa and Kāpiti, as well as further afield in Horowhenua.
She will embark on a pre-programme roadshow on Friday, and Girls who Grow will run her programme as part of the Kāpiti Coast Youth Expo on July 31.
Paraparaumu College, Kāpiti College and Ōtaki College will all have students getting involved there.
The long-term vision of the initiative includes 50,000 New Zealand farmers becoming climate-positive, developing the initiative’s collectively owned farms as hubs for hands-on and experience-led education for young women, and encouraging more female school leavers to choose primary industries as a meaningful career.
Catherine van der Meulen has high hopes for young New Zealand women in the world of agriculture.
Van der Meulen said the programme would help achieve those goals – and was supported by WellingtonNZ which provided funding.
“This funding allows us to advance on our mission of empowering young women in agriculture and farming, driving innovation, and encouraging positive change within the industry.
“Our vision extends beyond Wellington, with every town and region earmarked over the next three years to be actively participating in Girls who Grow through engaging educational experiences throughout Aotearoa.”
One supporter of the programme is Kāpiti Coast district councillor Sophie Handford, who initiated Schools Strike for Climate which has a big focus on agriculture.
Handford said she believed Girls who Grow would play a vital role in shaping the future of agriculture and environmental stewardship.
“As an advocate for climate action and a supporter of initiatives like Girls who Grow, I am thrilled to see this programme expanding into our region.
“Girls who Grow has the potential to make a real impact in agriculture and environmental stewardship, empowering young women to become leaders in sustainability. I believe their contribution will be instrumental in cultivating a brighter, greener future for Aotearoa.”
Girls who Grow launched its programme in Otago last year with imagination workshops for 15 to 17-year-old girls in college, which encouraged them to think about a different future that does not involve living with climate anxiety, but instead working towards a solution.
Van der Meulen said this imagination workshop would be one of the focuses of their programme, along with other aspects such as hands-on experience.
According to the Ministry of Primary Industries, New Zealand needs 25,000 new skilled primary industry workers by 2025 to meet increasing demand, she said.
“The next generation plays a critical role in sustaining our economy.”
