The Phenomenom program comprises a huge range of free, high-quality digital resources for primary school teachers that make it possible to improve perceptions of (and attitudes towards) vegetables among children.

The levy-funded project behind this initiative developed a fresh approach to food literacy and nutrition education and compiled a resource library of videos, activities and ready-made lesson plans designed to slip more serves of vegetables into every classroom.

The videos were published throughout 2018 and combine the history of cuisine and agriculture with lessons about art, maths, psychology and science. As well as these educational topics, the videos have a heavy emphasis on positive values like exploration, cooperation, tactile experience and taste.

Phenomenom’s outputs fall under five key areas:

• Super Humans: Health and physical educaiton
• Legends: History and culture
• Super Natural Science: Science, technologies and mathematics
• Eco Logic: Sustainability and geography
• Good Chat: English and language

The development of the materials was underpinned by thorough consumer research by leading firm Colmar Brunton, as well as a program logic laid out by Clear Horizon that provided a clear pathway showing how this educational program could make an impact.

So far, the project has been a massive hit, with project lead and expert educator Alice Zaslavsky promoting these educational resources across the Australian media landscape, from ABC News Breakfast (video clip here) to the Herald Sun.

The versatility of the video format has also led to some exciting new opportunities, like their appearance on Qantas’ in-flight entertainment system this summer. The success of this avenue also led to another levy investment by Hort Innovation through the Vegetable Fund to create more long-form episodes to be aired on Qantas flights between March and August 2019.

To learn more about the work that went into creating these great educational resources, take a look at the final report for the project, which is now available on the InfoVeg database.

If you’re interested in other industry-funded resources, take a look at AUSVEG’s consumer resources page.

To take a look at the huge range of high-quality digital resources and free lesson plans aligned to the Australian curriculum that were developed by this project, visit the Phenomenom website.

This post appeared in the AUSVEG Weekly Update published 5 March 2019. Subscribe to the Update using our online form to receive the latest industry news in your inbox every week!