Hermitage Schools Plant Science Competition

The department's Hermitage Research Facility (HRF) Schools Plant Science Competition offers engaging ways for students to gain understanding and skills in key areas identified within the Australian science curriculum. Encouraging the next generation of people who will be involved in agricultural/science careers is crucial to how we will face the future and is a key purpose of the competition.

The theme for the 2021  HRF Schools Plant Science Competition was 'Grow it, Taste it, Don’t Waste it!'.

Entries in our competition are also eligible for entry in state or territory Science Teachers Association Science Contests (for Queenslanders, the STAQ Science Contest) and the national BHP Foundation Science & Engineering Awards.

This year, we again join forces with QuestaGame to provide students with further opportunities to engage in real-world science. Through QuestaGame’s outdoor mobile gaming app, students' insect, weed, plant disease and animal pest sightings are shared with CSIRO’s Atlas of Living Australia and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility – the world’s premier collection of biodiversity records. Student involvement also helps researchers understand how we can better manage and protect biodiversity in a changing world. This is citizen science at its best!

Gold sponsors

• Queensland Government‒Department of Agriculture and Fisheries
• Plant Biosecurity Science Foundation
• Grains Research and Development Corporation

Silver sponsors

• Paul Johnston Memorial Trust
• The Crawford Fund
• The University of Queensland

Bronze sponsors

• Primary Industries Education Foundation Australia
• Warwick Art Gallery
• Ag Institute of Australia
• Selected Seeds
• Queensland University of Technology
• John and Chris Purdie