Our Year 11 Agriculture and Horticulture students have this week been collecting seeds and planting out last year’s crop of Yam Daisy (or Murnong). Yam Daisy is a perennial herb originally utilised by Indigenous populations of Australia. In his book Dark Emu, Bruce Pascoe detailed accounts of the large-scale farming of this plant.
Students are using this plant to test various hypotheses raised by Mr Pascoe. Growing crops under varied conditions to determine the impact of livestock on the plant, its ability to regenerate and the calorie capacity of the crop when compared to traditional European crops. As part of this process the students will also gain skills in seed propagation, scientific investigation and grazing management.
Our students are looking forward to the year-long project in which they will produce a report on their results.
