Dozens of University of Alberta students studying agriculture, life and environmental sciences (ALES) are rolling up their sleeves this week at the Valley Zoo, a local distillery and the province’s sole organic haskap berry orchard. The ALES mini-internship program offers undergrads a unique opportunity to get first-hand experience working in fields associated with their degrees. “What we’re doing is what we call an experiential learning activity,” said ALES director of experiential learning Anne Bissonette. “Instead of having a lecture or a lab, we want them to be actively participating as well as reflecting to connect theory and practice.” Students participate in three-day events where they participate in an authentic scenario that mirrors professional and community practices. Some of the students were at Rosy Farms, an organic haskap berry farm about 40 kilometres north of Edmonton. Farm owner Andrew Rosychuk said he was helping students learn about the business side of things, not just picking berries. “It’s giving my real life experience that can be passed down to them,” said Rosychuk. Being a small business for example, Rosychuk doesn’t have a designated food safety person, it’s just him and his staff. “You get people that have taken food safety and they become a textbook moving around … I get to show this person in university that, sure, you can go down that career path of being a textbook, or this encompassing nature of the business and thinking of the processing side or farming side. “It’s not trying to take them away from that single path the institution puts them on, and maybe gives them some other experiences they might not have normally gotten in university.” On Wednesday, Rosychuk was guiding two students in the ALES program. “The more I learn about conservation, the more I like it,” said third-year conservation student Julia Roberge. “I’m currently really interested in soils and insects and I’ve always loved plants.” Second-year student Lily Zhang said she is curious about supply chains and how Rosy Farms supplies their products to the consumer. “I remember being in school and learning about finance or soils, and then getting to the real world and then someone kind of laughs at it, like, ‘you’re right, that’s in a book, but welcome to the real world,’” recalled Rosychuk. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson
