Walter Martin, 82, earned his bachelor of science degree from the University of Saskatchewan, June 5, 2012. (U of S/handout/QMI Agency)

When Walter Martin retired from farming and moved to Saskatoon, he said he wasn't quite ready to put his feet up and spend the rest of his life "looking out the window."

So he decided to take a few courses at the University of Saskatchewan, which led to him taking more classes.

On Tuesday, the 82-year-old with the handlebar moustache joined other graduates in accepting his bachelor of science degree.

Martin said he was an active participant in classes and dispelled some of the myths his younger classmates had about farmers, such as farmers are trying to "conquer nature."

"I don't keep my mouth shut. We don't try to conquer nature; we work with nature. I think we're very conscious of the environment," Martin said in a release on the university's website.

In addition to science and math classes, Martin also studied subjects from the social sciences and humanities, such as philosophy, anthropology and English.

During his studies, Martin also helped his son on the family farm.

"Last fall wasn't so bad. We were through harvest, I think, in early October. But the two previous years we weren't due to finish harvest until into November, and finals come about the 10th of December," he said, adding it was sometimes easy to put off his course work.

His advice to other students: "Start off learning everything right from the start, which I didn't do. I always said, 'Oh, I'll get this later on.' Well, all of a sudden it's exams coming up and I don't remember this stuff from the start."

Martin said he is now considering enrolling in additional undergraduate courses, or may apply for a master's degree program.