ST. REGIS – A hands on lesson designed to teach St. Regis students the origins of what lands on their dinner tables had them witnessing last week how poultry goes from roosting in the chicken coop to ready to cook.

The group of students, taught by agriculture teacher Brandon Braaten, began the afternoon by catching chickens and turkeys, some of which they had raised from chicks, and ended the lesson by processing the birds themselves under the supervision of an expert in the field.

Will Tusick of Polson, who has been processing poultry for over 20 years, said the humane practice was designed to educate students about the benefits of homegrown food. Tusick stressed to the students the process was humane and did not cause the birds any undue pain or stress.

“The hope is they gain a knowledge of where their food comes from,” Tusick said. “Homegrown can be the best product you can get and the whole experience can be a positive one.”

St. Regis student Abbie Dellinger said she would be using the experience with her own chickens at home. Dellinger said it was the first time she had ever processed poultry and the new knowledge would come in handy when it comes time to process her own birds.

“It was pretty simple,” Dellinger said. “I didn’t think the process would be so quick. I have chickens at my house and we are planning on butchering them at some point so now I can show my parents how to do it right.”

Braaten expressed the same hope as Tusick, that the students gain an awareness of where food comes from and the benefit of processing their own products. He said he was impressed by the turnout for the poultry processing lesson as nearly half the high school student body turned out for the event.

“I didn’t expect there to be that kind of interest,” Braaten said. “I’m hoping the kids learn how the whole process works. We want to make sure they know where their food comes from. The kids have been overwhelming excited about this. It’s interesting to see how they have responded to this.”