Mayor and community leader turns teacher championing agricultural education

By Bianca Hall

Nov 22, 2022

A woman of many talents: Amanda McLaren has taken her leadership skills and passion for agriculture to Seymour College.

Amanda McLaren has taken a number of leadership roles in the past, but perhaps her favourite new role may be that of teacher.

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Ms McLaren ran the Fairley Leadership Program in the Goulburn Murray region from 2012 to 2016 and was mayor of Strathbogie from 2016 to 2020.

She has also been the chairperson of the Hume Regional Development Australia Committee from 2019 to 2021.

She is currently participating in the Leading Australian Resilient Communities program, building resilient communities and sharing sustainable practices in Australia.

Now working at Seymour College and completing her Masters in education, through La Trobe University’s Nexus program, she is one of about 30 participants in the state bringing their life experience into the classroom.

“I love it. I love the students, I love the fact that I can share with them the journey that I have been on throughout my life and that I can get them interested in agriculture and the environment,” Ms McLaren said.

“I’ve had a number of years out in industry, working in all sorts of things from agriculture to natural resource management.

“My degree is in applied science specialising in medical forensic psychology. I did an internship in Iceland … so it’s the opportunity to share that with the students and give them my interpretation.”

She is passionate about getting young people involved in agriculture. With six jobs existing for every one agriculture graduate, Ms McLaren said she saw opportunity for young people.

Using her grant writing skills, the college has successfully applied for a $100,000 grant to develop its agricultural program.

Ms McLaren said the program would allow students to develop strong connections with the region’s agricultural sector.

“If we can teach kids at the very minimum how to grow their own food … then it’s just one set of skills that will help them in their life,” she said.

“We see it at the farmers markets as well, particularly around Melbourne. People are so distant from their food, they just don’t understand where their food comes from, how food and fibre is grown, the modern farming techniques and how much farmers care for the land and their animals.

“So, if we can do a little bit of education in that space, I think we are winning and certainly we have some amazing programs we are connecting into here at Seymour College.”