Michelle Lyons

Queensland grazier and edutourism provider Michelle Lyons is on a mission to bridge the gap between producers and the public through immersive, educational experiences. 

As co-owner of Lyons Family Grazing, Michelle and her husband Michael manage a 6000-head beef cattle operation across  several properties in Northern Queensland, supplying Brahman bulls to northern clients and cattle to live export and meatworks. 

For over two decades she has also led the edutourism enterprise at their family property, Wambiana Station, south of Charters Towers, hosting hundreds of students and guests annually for hands-on learning in the outback.

Her Nuffield topic, “Enhancing the social licence of red meat through immersive, educational experiences”, explores how on-farm learning can foster public trust and understanding of red meat production. 

Through her family’s edutourism venture, Michelle has seen first-hand the positive impacts that on-farm experiences have on students and adults alike. She seeks to explore ways to build on this at a national scale.

Michelle is particularly keen to explore ways to allow every primary school student the opportunity to visit the farm of a red meat producer, and link this experience to curriculum in collaboration with industry, producers, governments and schools. 

With her experiences as a grazier, farmstay host, educator and community volunteer, Michelle is well placed to promote and scale up the opportunity to connect students to red meat producers. Her goal is to build trust and understanding and foster genuine enjoyment and interest in the red meat industry.

She aims to investigate successful farm-to-school programs in countries like the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada, and Finland, and assess how similar models could be adapted for Australia.