In 2015, I went along to a TAP Day at Timboon P-12 to create a video story on Ben Galia for ABC Heywire. Ben is a Heywire Winner and a passionate advocate for the farming and agriculture industries. At the Heywire Regional Youth Summit in Canberra, Ben and a group of young people came up with the idea of ‘TRACTA’; a program to help spread the word to young people all over Australia about the exciting and rewarding job opportunities working in the agricultural industry.

TRACTA Launch at Timboon P-12 School (ABC Heywire) from First Ladies – Colleen Hughson on Vimeo.

In 2014, Timboon P-12 School put in an application to Heywire (ABC) to adopt the TRACTA concept. Their application was successful and plans were in place to create a series of short films profiling the diverse jobs in agriculture in the Timboon and District area.

It was at this TAP Day that I had a chat with Assistant Principal Sean Fitzgerald about how the school were planning to create the short films and I offered my guidance. So in 2015 I began working with Year 7 and 8 Timboon P-12 Students mentoring them on how to create short documentaries. They used their iPads to film and record interviews, and iMovie to edit their films. Sean also had a GoPro that the students used to capture imagery for their projects.

We visited farms and farming businesses and created 5 films on 5 different agricultural businesses. These films highlight how people have developed their businesses, what they enjoy about running their own businesses and how they plan to continue to grow their businesses. Once again, I am amazed that you can create a video story using an iPad. I think the films turned out pretty awesome which is a credit to the dedication of the Timboon students and the TRACTA program.

TRACTA stands for – Try Regional Australian Careers Try Agriculture

These films were created as part of TRACTA, through a FRRR ABC Heywire Youth Innovation Grant.