The Toodyay Community Bank Branch of Bendigo Bank and Northam Customer Service Centre have thrown their support behind Charles Stuart University (CSU) Bachelor of Agricultural Business students providing funding to assist with their study tour to the east coast of Australia.
The students have made a number of site visits to learn and understand more about macadamia nut, root crop vegetable, blueberry, herb, strawberry runner, vegetable seed productions as well as receiving insights into the marketing and processing behind each of these industries.
Tour organiser Jess Herzer said the CSU students attending the eastern states tour were extremely grateful for the generous support received from the Toodyay Community Bank Branch of Bendigo Bank.
“The support has allowed our students to receive tour shirts, so we’re easily identifiable when it comes to meeting industry professionals,” she said.
“The shirts will also be a great memento of the tour.
“Bendigo Bank have always been known for their generous community involvement and we feel very privileged that we have their support for our CSU eastern states tour.”
While CSU have organised study tours in the past, this is the first time a tour has been organised by a group of students. As well as Ms Herzer, Jorden Mills, Alistair Kelly and lecturer Wendy Dymond, have put the tour itinerary together with planning commencing a year earlier.
The planning of the tour has gone towards an elective for the students’ degree called Special Project.
The students divided the tour organisation roles into three areas, allocating one to each organiser.
“The aim of the tour was to broaden our horizons and introduce us to new practises and enterprises,” Ms Herzer said.
“With this knowledge we hope to be able to bring back new ideas and diversification options to Western Australian agricultural industries.”
Most students on the tour were aged between 19 to 24 years old along with a few mature age students and five staff members as chaperones. The students were from all over the state from Albany to Merredin and Geraldton.
