Progress report for YENC24-208
Project Information
Sola Gratia Farm (SGF), a nonprofit, sustainable farm, regularly offers educational farm tours to local school and youth groups. The farm will expand the content of these visits for older students with hands-on activities to provide deeper understanding of sustainable agricultural practices such as organic plant start production, crop diversity and rotation, and soil health and preservation for long-term land use and viability. The farm will also develop a new segment of farm visits that explores both career opportunities and food sovereignty to give youth a stronger understanding of the farm and our partners’ work.
- Design expanded and enhanced sustainable agriculture education opportunities, including farm field trips and hands-on agriculture education activities, for youth in local schools and youth programs; Provide localized and relevant
agriculture experience and career awareness opportunities to 40+ local youth, especially those already interested in sustainable agriculture; - Develop age-appropriate, interactive and replicable educational materials to be featured on SGF’s learning farm.
Cooperators
- (Educator)
- (Educator)
- (Educator)
Educational & Outreach Activities
Participation Summary:
Four groups visited our farm over the course of the season to learn about how food is produced and the realities of food production, distribution, and security in our community. Each visit included a tour as well as a hands-on activity or interactive discussion to guide students' thinking and develop skills. Discussions covered 1) career opportunities in agriculture, both in small-scale diversified agriculture of the type that our farm engages in as well as conventional commodity agriculture; and/or 2) what food insecurity is, how it affects our community, and how to address it. Hands-on activities included harvests; taste tests of in-season, diverse produce from our farm; and cover crop selection and planting. All visiting students were in middle school or high school. Two post-visit consultations were also completed with educators from two of the groups that visited our farm.
One additional group was unable to travel to our farm, so we visited their location on three occasions to lead hands-on activities and demonstrations including seed starting and pollination demonstrations.
We plan to finish up the project and submit the final report in early-mid 2025. We will be using the remaining funds to complete our remaining planned activities and offer some repeat/updated programming in Winter/Spring 2025.
Learning Outcomes
skills and knowledge of organic agricultural production (including techniques such as season extension, pest and weed management, cultivation, and irrigation)
knowledge of multi-cropping techniques
awareness of local food system infrastructure
attitude towards local food products
awareness of food access and security
knowledge of farm production system development
*Note: we were unable to collect information on KASA changes from the largest group that visited the farm (42 students) because of time constraints.
We observed that younger (middle school or younger) students from urban areas expressed mostly gaining new knowledge about the basics of agricultural production - such as how plants grow, seasonality, and different types of crops. While these students showed interest and engagement in the concepts they were learning, it was hard for many students to discuss them deeply because they were being introduced to these concepts for the first time. In some cases, these students were also disinterested in hands-on activities, both because they did not have a deep understanding of the topic and, often, for basic logistical reasons as well: not wanting to get clothes or hands dirty, being wary of trying new things, or feeling that it was too hot or cold outside.
On the other hand, older students (older high school) and students from rural areas demonstrated existing knowledge of agricultural production, though they still reported increased knowledge and awareness of specific techniques. A goal when working with these students was to expose them to agricultural careers to foster the next generation of farmers. However, some of these students reported already having plans for their future or intending to pursue other interests, so they did not report any change in attitude or interest around agricultural careers.